Shaw's Two Tragedies
by rain1657
Summary: George Bernard Shaw said "There are two tragedies in life.  One is not to get your heart's desire.  The other is to get it."  Takes place one month after the events of Five Simple Words/Moments of Perfection.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Well hello there lovely readers. This is the third installment in the series that starts with "Five Simple Words" and "Moments of Perfection". While it isn't imperative that you read those prior to reading this, it may help clarify some things about this story. Plus, I would greatly appreciate hearing your feedback on those as well. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

**A/N 2**: Much love and thanks go to AliceBB for helping me out with this story. All mistakes are ultimately mine. I also do not own any pretty little FBI agents… that I'm aware of anyway.

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The dull yellow light of the floor indicator seemed to be moving slower than usual as the next number in the sequence lit up momentarily before the light continued its sluggish ascent. Emily Prentiss sighed, ran a hand through her hair and continued her current activity—glaring at the lethargic light as it pinged on the next floor: three down, forever to go… or at least that's how it seemed to the restless agent.

Trying to will the elevator to move faster so she could get yet another cup of coffee in her system, Emily cursed the speed, or lack thereof, in which both this elevator ride and the past month had inched by. There had been an influx of cases, some worse than others, all of them taking a toll on the team and their respective sleep patterns. However, part of Emily was positive that this month had been more torturous for her than the others.

It had nothing to do with the cases and everything to do with a certain blonde media liaison that was currently making Emily's life a living hell. Their feelings for one another were finally out in the open: truth. They had agreed to take it one step at a time: truth. It was easier for Emily knowing that JJ felt the same way she did: so far from the truth, it wasn't even in the same ballpark.

Almost a month ago to the day, JJ had shown up at her apartment and they had both admitted their love for each other. At that exact moment in time, Emily had felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world; the woman of her dreams felt the same way. Except that whatever vision of the future she had that night disappeared come morning, and her happily ever after had soured into a complacently _right now_ with the rising sun.

It had always been easier for Emily to let go of her secrets at night. She assumed it had to do with the illusion of privacy and intimacy the darkness provided, that whatever she said into the black would be swallowed up and secured. Yet, it always seemed, whatever security and promises the night brought were eventually drug into the harsh light of day and exposed for the illusions they were. That's exactly what happened that morning: reality had set in and things seemed a little more difficult, a little less doable than simply she loved JJ and JJ loved her.

They had obstacles to overcome, before things simply flowed, and the one thing that was still stopping them from being together, from even starting to try and make it work, presented itself in the form of a dimwitted detective from New Orleans. Emily was positive that she and JJ could be amazing together, that is if JJ ever decided to tell Drunken Mumbles McGee, the Crawfish From Hell that it was over and finally kicked his scrawny ass out of her apartment. Being raised a Prentiss taught Emily to be patient, and she'd wait forever and a day if it meant she had a chance with Jennifer Jareau, but this last month had been extremely difficult.

It was one thing to love JJ from afar, to indulge in the occasional fantasy or daydream when time allowed it, while still keeping her distance and friendship intact. This scenario provided a line that Emily knew she couldn't cross because being JJ's friend had been better than scaring the younger woman off. Then JJ shocked Emily by reciprocating the feelings and subsequently blew that imaginary line out of the water; in fact she had obliterated it from the face of the earth, effectively taking Emily's control with it. And then, just when Emily was allowing herself to accept this new scenario, JJ had asked for time to tell Will, and Emily had granted that wish. He _was_ Henry's father after all.

Knowing how JJ felt was a relief, yet at the same time she was going insane because JJ was still technically with Will, even if that relationship was now on borrowed time, and Emily refused to be with someone who was even remotely unavailable. This unfortunately meant that she was forced to spend all her time with the blonde without being able to touch her, hug her, kiss her, and hold her like she wanted to. However, she had promised that she'd wait, so waiting was what she was doing albeit poorly and rather impatiently.

The elevator finally stopped on her floor and Emily had to shoulder her way though the other riders in order to exit. Just as she was stepping off, her phone vibrated on her hip and she couldn't help the goofy grin that fixed itself on her face when she saw it was a text from JJ. Man, did she have it bad.

_Where are you?_

Emily rolled her eyes as she responded that she was just stepping off the elevator. It's not like she was late or anything, in fact she was a good ten minutes early. Another vibration tickled Emily's hip as she dropped her gun, badge and go-bag off at her desk.

_Good. Come to my office when you get a sec._

Allowing a small chuckle to escape her lips, Emily clipped her phone back onto her belt before quickly leafing through the files that had once again multiplied in the few hours she'd been away from the office. Luckily this time there were only six new consults that needed her attention rather than the typical eight to ten. Sending a quick and silent thank you to JJ for playing favorites even though she wasn't supposed to, Emily felt the grin on her face grow again as her phone vibrated once more.

_I didn't mean you could take your time getting up here… I was trying to sound aloof._

This time Emily outright laughed and could feel Reid's eyes on her while she texted back: _someone's impatient this morning…_

The response was almost immediate this time: _yes, I am. Now get your sexy ass up here Agent Prentiss!_

Emily threw a smart salute at her phone, knowing full well that JJ was spying on her from her office.

"Who's she texting?"

Reid shrugged his shoulders as Morgan came to stand next to his chair, "I have no idea. She hasn't stopped smiling since she got here."

Morgan raised his eyebrows at that before turning his attention to his brunette friend, "Let's find out, shall we? Hey Prentiss!"

Emily looked up, made eye contact with Morgan and immediately knew she had been busted. She quickly deleted the texts as he approached, "What's up Morgan?"

Morgan shook his head, "Don't play coy with me. I know that look. So spill, who is he?"

Emily's face remained impassive, "Who's who?"

Reid's voce squeaked in the background, "Emily is seeing someone?"

The brunette turned her attention to the young genius, "I'm not seeing anyone. I have no idea what you two are talking about."

Morgan refused to let it go, "Oh yeah? Then you wouldn't mind if we took a peek at your phone then."

Shrugging her shoulders, Emily easily tossed her phone at her friend, "Knock yourself out."

Reid was immediately standing at Morgan's right shoulder as the muscular agent scrolled through the now empty message center. Morgan's eyes rose to meet Emily's in a mocking glare as Reid stated the obvious, "There's nothing here."

Emily smirked as she held out her hand, her eyebrows rising ever so slightly in a challenge. Derek handed to phone back to her, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by the sound of a door flying open and crashing against a wall.

The three agents turned to look up as JJ all but stormed out of her office, scanned the bullpen and settled on Emily.

"My office. Now."

The obvious annoyance in JJ's voice seemed to hang in the air like an umbrella, covering the atmosphere in the bullpen and filling the room with an awkward silence as the two men turned to look at Emily. Morgan's right eyebrow quirked in questioning as Reid voiced what they were all thinking, "Why is JJ mad at you?"

Prentiss merely shrugged as she turned and headed up the stairs towards the blonde's office. Morgan watched her go, thoughts of who her mystery man could be running through his mind. As he turned to head back to his desk, he grumbled after his friend's retreating form, "Damn she's good."

Emily cautiously entered the office, making sure to close the door behind her. Turning slowly back around, Emily wasn't really surprised to see JJ standing right behind her, an easy smile playing on her lips. Emily couldn't help the smile that formed on her own, "Thanks for the rescue."

JJ nodded slightly, the movement conveying her acceptance of Emily's thanks, "Looked like you were about to face the Inquisition."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Felt like it too."

This time JJ chuckled as she stepped closer to Emily, trying to ignore the tension that shot through Emily's body as she neared, "So I was wondering what you were doing later…"

Emily shook her head, once decisively, as JJ reached for her, "Don't."

JJ's hand stopped its path towards hers before their fingers touched. Letting it fall back into place, JJ couldn't help the sigh that escaped her as she said, "Why not Emily?"

Shutting her eyes and choking back the accusing response, Emily instead took a deep breath. She had promised to be patient after all, "You know why Jennifer. Can we not do this here… again?"

JJ immediately took two steps back from Emily, hurt flashing through her crystal blue eyes. When she did respond, the tone of her voice portrayed just how deeply she was hurting and it didn't help the situation at all. It only made Emily want to hold her even more, "Why won't you touch me anymore, Em? Why can't I hold your hand or give you a hug? I thought you felt the same way I do."

Emily's eyes rose to meet JJ's quickly, disbelief showing plainly on her face, "I do! You know that! God Jen, there's no one I'd rather be with, but we can't because it hurts too much when you go home to _him_ every night. You have no idea how badly I want to touch you, hug you, kiss you, but I won't while he's still around."

Arms crossing over her chest in an attempt to ward off the guilt she was currently feeling, JJ took her eyes off of Emily's because the emotion she was seeing there was too strong, too intense, and it only made her want to kiss the brunette even more. "He won't be around too much longer."

This time Emily didn't try to stop the emotion from flooding her voice, "When Jennifer? When are you going to tell him? I know I said I'd wait, and I will… but I don't get it. We could be together right now, no obstacles, nothing to get in our way. I don't get why you're holding onto him so tightly. Please, help me understand."

A heavy silence filled the room while Emily waited for a response; the only noise was the ticking of the wall clock behind JJ's desk. Finally a sniffle reached Emily's ears and the brunette threw her hands up in the air, effectively throwing the no touching policy out with it. Taking two long strides forward, Emily grabbed JJ's shoulders and pulled her into a tight embrace.

The blonde wrapped her arms tightly around Emily's waist and buried her head in the brunette's neck, "I'm sorry Emily. I'm so sorry."

Emily began rubbing soothing circles on JJ's back, "It's okay. I'll wait for you. I'll wait until you're ready."

JJ shook her head and pulled out of the hug, trying to push away the disappointment she felt when Emily's warmth went with it, "no. It's not fair to you. I can't keep stringing you both along! It's just…"

Wiping fiercely at the tears that were currently running down her cheeks, JJ sighed again. Emily took a step closer and reached up, wiping at the tear marks with her thumb, "it's just what? I can't understand until you explain it to me."

JJ looked up into Emily's eyes, "It's just that he's Henry's father and he moved all the way up here to be with us, he gave up his job as a detective, he loves me and he deserves to be let down gently, and because whatever relationship he and I have is norm…"

A look of fear shot through JJ's eyes as she clamped her mouth shut before the thought could finish itself. The motions were too late though, because Emily caught exactly what JJ was getting at. She nodded her head a couple times before stepping away from the blonde, her face struggling to remain stoic, to hide just how deeply those words had cut. "I see."

JJ's hand shot out quickly, grabbing a hold of Emily's wrist before the woman she loved got too far away, "Em, I didn't mean it like that."

Emily whipped around, "You didn't mean it like that! Then what did you mean, Jennifer?"

JJ's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no answer came. Emily sighed, turning to face the liaison, "I get it" she said. "This is going to take some getting used to. At least I think I understand it now."

She stepped closer and placed a quick kiss onto the top of JJ's head, "Take some time and think about it… this… us. And then let me know."

A sob almost escaped JJ's throat as Emily made it to the door, "Wait Em. What does this mean?"

Emily smiled sadly, "It means that you need some more time, and that I'm still stuck waiting. So I'm going to give you some space, just promise me you'll think about what makes _you_ happy and not about what others want from you okay?"

JJ nodded, "I do love you."

Emily nodded, the love shining through her eyes, "I know."

With that Emily walked out of JJ's office, closing the door behind her. JJ was once again left alone in her office to think about what she wanted and what that might mean for everyone in her life: Henry, Will, her parents, the team. She sighed as she flopped into her desk chair, one single thought running through her mind: _why does life have to be so hard?_

Emily walked out of JJ's office and headed to the bathroom to give herself a few moments of privacy to get her emotions under control before heading back to her desk. The true reason behind JJ's need to have Will around had finally reared its ugly head, and Emily chastised herself for believing, for however brief a moment, that this could be easy- or even possibly work. She had forgotten that JJ had never been with a woman, that she had been raised in a small rural town of Pennsylvania where homophobia was sure to run rampant, and that she had such a strong connection with her family. That was extremely different from Emily's upbringing: around the world with very little interaction between the members of her family. Emily didn't really have anyone to answer to except herself. For JJ it was a different story; she had an entire town that would be affected if they went through with whatever was going on between them.

Sighing as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, Emily felt her stomach churn at the thought that JJ would ignore her own happiness based on what people thought. Except when she thought about it, fear was a powerful emotion, freezing even the most courageous individual from time to time. Just because they stared down the worst mankind had to offer on a daily basis, didn't necessarily mean that it would be easy for JJ make such a drastic change when it came to her personal life, and it had been naïve of Emily to think it would just happen.

Emily finally blinked and decided that she had been away from her desk for long enough. So she carefully placed all of her feelings about the situation, all of her feelings towards JJ, into their respective boxes and forcefully shut the lids before any of them could leak out again. Giving her reflection one more look, Emily nodded when she found herself presentable and walked out of the bathroom with her head held high.

She wasn't surprised to see Morgan and Reid waiting expectantly by her desk, and Emily couldn't help but muse that her teammates were becoming predictable. Giving them a questioning look as she settled at her desk, Emily then ignored them as they exchanged a look amongst themselves.

When it was obvious Emily wasn't going to offer information about what happened in JJ's office, Morgan approached her and settled easily on the corner of her desk, his arms crossing over his chest, "So?"

Emily didn't look up from the file she was currently reading, "What do you want Morgan?"

Morgan threw a concerned look at Reid before looking back at Prentiss, "So, what happened in JJ's office? Is she mad at you for something?"

Emily shrugged as she placed the file back on her desk, "Nope."

"Nope? That's it?"

Her face remained impassive as Emily answered, "Yeah that's it. What were you expecting?"

Reid sat forward in his chair a little more, "Well with the way she called you into her office, one would reason that she was at least annoyed by something that you did or said, something you were the cause of perhaps."

Emily shook her head slowly, her face contorting into one of concentration, "Nope. Now if you don't mind, I have a ton of work here."

The two men took the poorly veiled hint and returned to their respective desks, deciding to let the brunette be for now.

Emily rolled her eyes at her teammates before grabbing the top file off of her desk, opened it and getting to work on profiling the UNSUB the local LEOs should be looking for. She focused on the details of the case, the witness statements, and the crime scene photos. She absolutely did _not_ focus on what it would be like if JJ chose her over what society viewed as normal, or what it would be like to be able to go home to JJ every night after a long day, or the way the blonde's hands would feel on her body as they explored, teased and fulfilled.

Emily squeezed her eyes tightly, her right hand coming up to put pressure on the bridge of her nose as she tried to ward off the thoughts of a life that could possibly never come to fruition. She started reciting her favorite quotes from Vonnegut as a way to refocus her mind on the case in front of her, allowing the familiarity of the author she adored to calm her racing heart. Sighing once again after she had settled, Emily began to reread the evidence that she hadn't absorbed the first time through due to her rather distracted mind.

The horrid photos, less than descriptive witness statements and all around heinousness of the crimes became her main focus, her main drive. Taking advantage of the silence currently in her head, Emily threw herself into the files, trying to bury her messed up life in the tragedies in front of her, and before she knew it, the last file was closed.

Emily groaned as she sat back in her chair and placed the finished consult on the pile to the right, her hands found her tired eyes and began to rub gently in a vain attempt to rid her mind of the photos she had spent the day looking at. Deciding that trying to rub the images out was a useless effort, she glanced around the bullpen, taking in the position of the other profilers.

Morgan's feet were propped up on his desk, a pen was in his mouth as he chewed on it thoughtfully. Reid was hunched over his desk in what Emily assumed was a rather painful position and was once again amazed at how quickly his pen flew across the notepad in front of him. Allowing herself a quick indulgence, Emily's bloodshot eyes wandered slowly, and hopefully nonchalantly, towards JJ's office.

The door was closed, but the blinds remained open, giving longing chocolate orbs a glimpse of the shock of blonde hair she so desperately wanted to run her fingers through. Sighing, Emily shook her head, keeping her mind from wandering too far, and looked at the clock on her desk. She bit back the next groan before it passed her lips, figuring two in the last few minutes would be overkill. They still had half an hour before they were allowed to leave for the night and that was nowhere near enough time to begin reviewing another case. So instead of getting another file, Emily opened her desk drawers and attempted to straighten the already ridiculously organized desk: which proved to be just mind numbing enough. The moment the minute hand reached the 12, Emily was handing in her completed cases to Hotch and grabbing her gear to head home for the night alone… again.

Exactly one hour, three traffic jams, and several choice four letter words later, Emily doggedly pushed open the front door of her DC condo, dropped her go-bag near the door, and let the heavy door swing lazily closed behind her. She didn't waste any time heading for the liquor cabinet and grabbing out the bottle of Patrón she had bought earlier in the week and several shot glasses. Pushing playback on her answering machine as she passed, Emily dropped the alcohol off at the island before making her way to the refrigerator, grabbing the lime slices she had wrapped in Saran Wrap.

"Emily, its your mother" Elizabeth Prentiss' voice echoed in the empty apartment, forcing it's single occupant to whirl around, uncap the bottle and take a long swig of the burning liquid. Emily grimaced at the taste and then pulled out a chair at the island, settled in and began setting up the four shot glasses, filling them with the slightly offensive substance. She tossed back the first two while her mother's voice droned on in the background, blathering about some function she wanted Emily to attend. Emily paused long enough to bite into a lime to cut the taste of the liquor as it slid down her throat. She picked up the next one, stopping to stare at the glass and the light that reflected through it, hoping that she could find some sort of solace within. When the answers she was so desperately seeking didn't present themselves in the shot, she tossed back the third with the fourth immediately following.

Knowing she had to slow down if she wanted to survive the night, Emily made her way to her stereo system, and switched on the iPod dock she had hooked up to it. Satisfied as _Dance So Good _by Wakey!Wakey! drifted smoothly in the empty condo, she made her way back to the island and poured four more shots. Tonight she needed to feel numb for the damage control she knew she had to do on her emotions. Things were getting out of control, _she _was losing control and that was something Emily Prentiss never let happen… ever.

Before she could pull her first compartment forward to open it, a knock on her door stopped any and all thought process from continuing. She waffled back and forth as to if she wanted to answer it. Her uninvited visitor decided for her however, when the knocking resounded again, this time managing to sound more impatient then the last. It wasn't the sharp staccato of fist on wood that finally decided for her: it was the muffled voice that declared, "I know you're in there Emily. Open the door."

Figuring the unwanted disturbance wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, Emily begrudgingly stalked to the door, her intent to make this person go away as soon as possible so she could get back to her self-wallowing. However, the second she yanked the door open and looked straight into bloodshot, puffy eyes that proved their owner had been crying, all plans of sending her away were forgotten.

"Jennifer? What's wrong?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **First off, many thanks to those who read the last chapter, and even more thanks to those who took the time to review! Again, I can't thank AliceBB enough from putting up with my ridiculously long sentences. Still not mine

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Emily never considered herself a masochist. She saw too much of that type of thing at work, so the thought that she could in fact be even remotely masochistic never crossed her mind. That is until she looked into the eyes of the woman standing in front of her. Only a few moments ago, Emily was adamant that she would give JJ all the space she needed, whether the blonde had wanted it or not. Everything JJ was going through was something she had to go through alone. Spending time wither would only further confuse the media liaison. So, as much as it pained her, Emily was determined to only interact with the woman she loved on a professional level; no matter how much the blonde tried to force the issue differently. That was until Emily opened the door.

Now here was said media liaison, standing at Emily's front door looking so painfully broken, so hauntingly and devastating beautiful that Emily felt her heart plummet and her breathing catch in her throat. All concern for what she was feeling, the pain she felt every time she thought of JJ being with that man instead of being with her, flew to the darkest recesses of her mind. Instead, concern, love and the desire to protect flooded to the foreground, tugging forcefully on the brunette's emotions. All logical was eradicated as her protective streak grabbed her, panic searing through her like ice-cold water on an already freezing ay. She reached out towards the blonde, her fingers brushing JJ's shirtsleeve temporarily before letting her hand fall back to her side.

"Jennifer? What's wrong?

She stepped to the side and let her coworker enter, the door closing on its own as she followed the blonde further into the condo.

"Is Henry okay? Did something happen to him? JJ? Is everything okay?"

The younger woman stopped at the end of the island, her eyes settling on the full shot glasses; it seemed she was always catching Emily at the wrong time, "What? No, everything's fine Em. Will took Henry to his parents' house for the week. Is there somebody here?"

Emily quirked an eyebrow at the sudden shift of topic then realized that the blonde couldn't see the expression. "What?" she asked confused.

Gesturing towards the shot glasses as she turned to face her teammate, JJ's eyes reflected the odd mix of pain, embarrassment and emptiness she was feeling. Emily's head tilted to the side still perplexed, "Umm, no. No one else is here. Why are _you_ here, Jennifer?"

Blue eyes dropped to the floor as pale cheeks flushed a light pink, "I couldn't _not_ see you tonight" JJ whispered. She slowly looked up to meet Emily's emotionless face. "I needed to see you. I miss you, Em."

Emily started to shake her head and tried to step back, except JJ was faster. Taking two steps forward, she grabbed Emily's wrist, "Don't do that. Please don't pull away from me. Not tonight."

Emily blinked a few times before nodding her head and sliding her hand down to intertwine with JJ's fingers. Turning to move towards the living room, Emily hesitated at the slight resistance from the blond. JJ's eyes stayed on the shots that were so precisely lined up on the granite countertop. The lightly yellow tinted alcohol was calling to her, demanding to be consumed, mocking her knowingly because God knew she couldn't say what needed to be said while fully sober.

"How many have you had?"

The brunette shrugged noncommittally, "A few."

"Okay."

Without hesitating, JJ leaned across the table and grabbed the first two shots, slammed them back and immediately grabbed the other two, repeating the process without pause. Involuntarily, a grimace settled on her face, the burning was unwelcome and JJ knew it was useless to fight it so she exhaled through the painful sensation instead. Emily waited patiently for her friend to stop feeling the sting before heading towards the cream-colored leather couch that was positioned under the large picture window.

Emily quietly settled against the arm of the sofa, pulling her legs up under her. JJ followed suit, settling herself into Emily's right side, sighing in contentment as her head tilted until it was resting on Emily's shoulder.

Struggling to keep her conflicting emotions in check, Emily began to idly stroke her slender fingers through silky golden locks. A comfortable silence settled between the two for a while, both women content to enjoy the contact while it lasted. They both knew that a conversation needed to happen, and they both had a feeling they would regret the alcohol when that conversation eventually place. However, the past month hadn't exactly allowed them the opportunity to simply enjoy each other's company, so neither agent wanted to ruin the moment by opening her mouth to bring the complications in this pseudo relationship to light.

Instead, Emily continued to slowly pull her fingers through JJ's hair while the blonde simply relished in the contact, allowing the condo, their argument from earlier, and the world to simply fade away. They fell into a rhythm: Emily's fingers matching JJ's heartbeat perfectly.

"You make it look so easy."

And just like that, the bubble that had been surrounding the two of them, the barrier that protected them so they could simply be, was shattered. The room came snapping back into focus, bringing with it the flood of emotions and the harsh reality of everyday life.

Emily's hand stilled momentarily, letting the blonde know she had been heard. When no words followed and the fingers resumed their previous pattern she spoke again.

"You have to understand Emily, this could be the single hardest thing I _ever_ have to do. If I leave Will to be with you, it will devastate my parents. They wouldn't understand it. This decision doesn't just affect you and me: it changes everything for them as well. The whole town will know, there's no way to hide something this big from all of them. Everyone will know—their pastor, their friends, the bagboy at the supermarket… everyone. And they will judge and torment my family because I won't be there for them to yell at and condemn. It's not fair to them Emily. I don't know if I can do that to them, they deserve better. Hell, I'm not even sure I can do that to me."

JJ fell silent. Snuggling further into Emily's warmth and the brunette figured now was as good a time as any to ask the question that was currently plaguing her mind, "What about you? I admire that you want to protect your family and make them happy, but what about you? What about what you deserve? You deserve to be happy too, so tell me Jennifer, are you happy? What is going to make _you_ happy?"

Emily felt the frustrated growl vibrate against her chest more than she heard it. "It's not that simple Emily! It can't be!" JJ exclaimed.

Anger flashed quick and hot through Emily's veins, her heartbeat picking up speed and pounding too loud in her ears. She found herself blaming the alcohol for the sudden flare of her temper; it was easier than blaming JJ. "Yes it is! It was for me."

Slightly hazy blue eyes shot to meet brown, proving that the blonde was starting to feel the effects of the tequila as well. Those eyes narrowed and accusation flowed through them. "That's because you didn't have to think about anyone but yourself."

Emily pulled away from the body leaning against her and shot to her feet. She was reeling from the pain the implication of that statement caused. And she wished that she could just run away from it all. JJ hadn't been prepared for the abrupt change and struggled to keep her balance.

"What is that supposed to mean!"

So much emotion was woven through that simple phrase that JJ found herself blinking, trying to clear her cloudy thoughts. This was getting out of hand and fast. She hadn't meant to offend the other woman, only to make her understand the differences in their situations. Make her see what was at stake if she came out. All she wanted was a little more time to figure this all out. Instead, JJ found she was once again back peddling to apologize, "Wait, Emily. That's not what it sounded like," she started.

Emily stopped her pacing and whirled to face her colleague, "Oh no? It sure as hell sounded like you think I had it easy because my parent's weren't around a whole lot. Is that what you think? Do you think I had it easier because of how I was raised?" Emily demanded.

JJ looked down, unable to meet Emily's eye or fight the wave of guilt that crashed into her under the brunette's accusatory stare. "Emily, I…"

Emily cut her off, "No Jennifer. I haven't talked to my father since I came out. That was _years_ ago."

JJ stood, raising her hands in a placating manner. She then took a few steps towards her upset friend, inwardly cursing the alcohol that was obviously causing a whole other set of issues by bringing their emotions so close to the surface. JJ tried to grab one of Emily's flailing arms in an attempt to calm her down. This was useless however, as the profiler continued with her rant.

"Coming out isn't for anyone's benefit but your own JJ!" Emily exclaimed as she turned and started pacing again. "Living in the closet isn't living, plain and simple. There comes a point where you have to either hide it all or be true to yourself and do what's right for you. I couldn't hide that part of me because I wasn't ashamed of it then and I'm sure as hell not ashamed of it now!" The defensive tone of her voice gave away how much this topic meant to the brunette.

She continued, "I want to be happy, I deserve to be happy, and in order to do that, I had to come out. _You_ make me happy Jennifer! However, I refuse to be in a secret relationship. It hurts too much. Trust me." She turned to face the blonde and snapped, "So, sorry if I don't fit into your _normal_ world, but won't apologize for who I am or for the choices I made."

JJ gasped and pulled back, stopping her forward motion towards the pacing brunette. "Emily," she choked out.

The pained whisper broke through Emily's anger faster and more effectively than any of the blonde's physical attempts had, "What!"

JJ reached forward to touch Emily, again hoping to calm the nearly irate woman; the pain and anger in her eyes was too much for the liaison to handle. At Emily's flinch the blonde let her hands drop, settling for holding Emily's stare to show how serious she was.

"When I made that comment earlier, I wasn't talking about you or what we feel for each other. That feels like the most normal thing in the world. Please don't think that I blame you for any of this. My love for you is real and it's the one thing I'm absolutely sure of. Please don't doubt that Sweetheart."

Emily stilled, the anger dissolving from her face to make rook for confusion. Her posture remained defensive and rather pissed off. "Then what…?"

"The problem is that _this_," she gestured between herself and Emily, "Is not what the closed minded people of East Allegheny would consider normal. To them, this would be anything but normal, and it was them I was referring to when I slipped up earlier today."

She sighed, "All the trouble I'm having with this whole situation never stemmed from you, who you are, or what I feel for you. What we have feels so damn normal to me that there's no way it could be wrong." She reached towards the brunette again when Emily rolled her eyes and started to turn away.

JJ continued honestly, "I want to be with you more than anything. I want to tell them how happy you make me; I just don't know if I can. I'm scared because I want this so badly, I just don't know how to get it. All I'm asking for is a little more time to figure out how to tell them that the daughter they raised to be a good Christian girl got pregnant out of wedlock and is head over heels in love with a fantastic woman." She paused and looked down briefly.

She looked back up at the brunette with a smile, "That's not just something you blurt out at the next family dinner, you know?"

Emily finally relaxed and allowed JJ to step closer and settle her arms around her waist. "I'm sorry," Emily whispered, "I keep forgetting this is all new to you. I'll stop pushing so hard and I'll be here all the way to help you through this. Just don't make me wait too much longer, it's getting harder…"

"What is?" JJ asked, her lips turning up in a smug smirk that put a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Stopping myself from doing this..."

Emily leaned down and gently captured JJ's lips with her own in a slow, passionate kiss. The connection stayed relaxed and full of understanding until Emily finally pulled back, smiling now that the tension from the argument was gone.

JJ's giggle broke the silence as Emily led them back to the couch. Once resettled, JJ turned to look at Emily. "What about your mother?"

Cocking an eyebrow as she looked down into blue eyes, Emily asked, "What about her?"

"You only told me about coming out to your Father. How did your mother take it?"

Emily barked a laugh, "I didn't have to come out to her. She has always been the more perceptive of the two. She apparently always knew."

Smiling as she snuggled once again against the woman she loved, JJ let the silence permeate the room, simply enjoying being in Emily's company.

_The next morning…_

JJ groaned, grabbed at the pounding in her head and blinked a few times trying to remember exactly what had pulled her from her deep, dreamless sleep. The sudden, high-pitched ring served as the reminder and sent pain flashing through her head before settling rather harshly behind her eyes. Groping for the offending object, the blond cracked open her right eye to try and decipher the caller ID through her blurry vision. Another ring convinced her to give up and just answer the damn thing before her head exploded in protest.

"Jareau."

An over eager voice started talking to her, and she blocked it out momentarily in favor of checking the time on a nearby clock. The red numbers were not only unfamiliar to her but too bright for 5:17 in the morning. Letting her head drop down into the pillow, JJ briefly wondered who the hell was ever this coherent at 5:17 in the morning.

A change in the caller's voice brought the blonde back to the current problem: getting him off the damn phone so she could go back to sleep.

"Did you read the file?"

Shaking her head in order to clear it and immediately deciding that was possibly the worst idea she ever had, JJ cleared her throat, "I'm sorry. Who is this?"

"Sheriff Michael Burroughs from Jefferson County, Arkansas. I sent you our file two weeks ago."

JJ rubbed a hand over her burning eyes, she asked, "Of course, what can I do for you?"

The answer was blunt and to the point. "We found another body."

That was the one sentence that had any chance of getting her up at this point, "Are you sure?" she asked for clarification.

"Yes. This body was found in the same position, with the same injuries as the last two."

Rolling onto her back so she could stare at the ceiling of Emily's guest bedroom, JJ did a mental rundown of all the other cases she had been looking at. Deciding that this one took priority, JJ started to climb out of bed. "We'll be there today."

The relief was apparent in the sheriff's voice, "Thank you. We'll have a conference room set up for you when you get here."

JJ ended the call, groaned and tossed her arm over her eyes. She allowed herself a few precious moments of peace before she had to call in the other members of the team. Heaving a rather large sigh, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and reluctantly pulled herself from the comforting warmth it had provided.

Walking out of the bedroom door served as a reminder of the events from the last night. After their little disagreement, she and Emily had finished off the bottle of tequila while enjoying each other's company. True, that discussion was nowhere near over, but it had been nice to learn the small things about each other, things that neither of them allowed to shine through on a case or at work. For one, Emily was obviously addicted to cuddling, no matter how cold and distant she appeared to be. And Emily had learned of JJ's guilty pleasure: really horrendous "made for TV" sci-fi movies.

Walking further down the hallway, JJ paused at the door to Emily's room. It was slightly ajar, which was odd for Emily. JJ knew that she liked feeling sealed off from the world when she was in her room, in a way believing that it kept her safe from the horrors she saw everyday. Apparently though, Emily had left it open in case she had needed anything, and this made JJ's heart warm to the brunette a little more, if that was possible.

Without hesitating the blonde slipped into the darkened room, and instantly felt comforted as the smell that was so uniquely Emily overcame her. Hating what she was about to do, JJ walked quietly to the side of the bed and drank in Emily's sleeping form. This Emily was so unguarded, so innocent, yet still so strong that JJ found herself loving this side of Emily the best.

She couldn't imagine waking up to this sight everyday. She often dreamed that this could be her future, and that dream became so real in that exact moment, JJ found herself swearing that she would break it off with Will the next chance she got- consequences be damned. This woman lying before her was so perfect and so _worth it_ that there shouldn't have even been any hesitation.

"You gonna stand there and stare at me all morning, or are you gonna tell me what's up?"

JJ stifled the scream that wanted to rip from her throat at the sudden sound of Emily's voice. Emily rolled over to look at her with an amused smirk plastered on her face. JJ sent a glare in Emily's direction before making her way to the bed.

Settling herself on the edge JJ said quietly, "Unfortunately you have to get up. We have a case in Arkansas."

Emily groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over her head, "I thought I was awake, but this is obviously a nightmare," she grumbled.

Sitting on the edge of a bed in the early morning hours, JJ learned something else about one Emily Prentiss: she was in no way a morning person.

"What if I sweeten the deal by offering to buy you breakfast?" JJ asked.

Ruffled brown hair poked out from under the covers, "I'm listening."

The giggle that bubbled from JJ seemed to lighten the room a little. "Well seeing as I have my go-bag here, and you live forty-five minutes from Quantico, I was thinking that I could possibly put off calling the team for a couple of minutes so we can stop at the bakery you love so much."

Emily shoved the covers off as she turned to stare at the blond skeptically, "You mean the bakery _you_ love so much."

This time JJ laughed outright, "Touché my friend."

With that she pushed at Emily's side, "Come on, get up. I'm hungry," she whined.

Emily rolled her eyes as she got up and headed towards her bathroom. "Has anyone told you that you act like a petulant child in the morning?"  
"Do not!"

This time it was Emily's laughter that filled the room. She poked her head back out of the bathroom, "You can shower if you want. Towels are in the hallway next to the guest bathroom."

JJ nodded as she went to leave then paused at the bathroom door. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch the brunette, to kiss her and properly show her how much she meant to the blonde. If this had happened last night, then JJ wouldn't have even hesitated and she knew Emily would have been receptive. Except now in the harsh light of day, JJ wasn't sure exactly how the brunette would react to such a forward action. So instead, JJ reached forward and lightly touched Emily's arm. "Thanks, Emily."

The other woman nodded, a genuine smile playing on her features, "Anytime Jayje. I'll meet you downstairs when you're done," she said before heading back into the bathroom.

Ducking her head and diverting her eyes, JJ turned and headed out the door of the bedroom and away from the ridiculously strong pull the brunette had on her heart and the confusion she caused. What she needed right now was a cold shower so she could focus on the case they had ahead of them. The distraction of the case would do her some good, if only it wasn't such a disturbing one.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **So here we are again… it was brought to my attention that there were some typos in the last chapter. Ugh, that is a major pet peeve of mine and I apologize profusely for letting them slip in. Anyway, major thanks to AliceBB for being awesome and helping with editing. That being said, all errors reflect my laziness, and are ultimately mine. But you know what isn't? These characters. Nope, they are still not mine.

* * *

The conference room was silent as six tired agents sat around the table; the only noise was the low electrical hum of the overhead lights. The usual banter was absent as the team dealt with the reality that they had been called out on _another_ case. Emily could tell that everyone else was wondering if they were ever going to get a break, or even more than one day off at a time. _But,_ part of her reasoned, _your team is the best and being the best comes with a price._

The door opened, six heads turned and Morgan quickly entered, making his way to the empty chair between Emily and Reid. He mumbled an apology as he settled himself into his seat, opening the file as he went. Hotch nodded once before turning to JJ, "what do we have?" he asked.

JJ stood and moved to the screen at the front of the room. "Jefferson County, Arkansas," she started as she clicked the remote, bringing two pictures into focus. One picture had a man slumped against a short metal post in the middle of a quarry while the other had a man splayed out face down in a field next to another short metal post.

"Two bodies were found over the past two weeks. The first victim," a click of the remote brought the first picture to the foreground with a picture of the victim's driver license, "was Max Temple, a twenty-nine year old tabloid journalist. He was taken from the parking lot of his office between 2030 and 2200 hours Tuesday of last week. Workers discovered his body at the quarry the next morning at 0928 hours. Our second victim was Arthur Brenna."

Another click echoed in the quiet room bringing the picture of the man in the field to the screen. JJ continued, "He was a forty-two year old CEO of a paper company. He went missing last night around 2200 hours from the driveway of his house. Local police found his body early this morning."

JJ finished by bringing both pictures side by side so the team could get a better look at the scenes. Rossi squinted at the screen and asked, "Are they chained there?"

"Yes. Both men were chained to the metal post premortem. Cause of death is blunt force trauma," JJ stated.

Emily opened her file to look at the injuries suffered by both victims. Lacerations, bruising and blood littered the naked torsos and faces of both men. "Was the weapon recovered?"

"Yes, the weapons were recovered at the scene of both victims."

Reid didn't look up to ask, "What were they?"

JJ cleared her throat and hesitated, which caught Emily's attention and brought her eyes up to meet the blonde's. "It appears both men were stoned to death."

"Stoned to death?" Morgan echoed the disgust in JJ's original statement.

"Yes, Sheriff Burroughs believes both victims were taken to the sites, chained down and then stoned over several hours before being left to die," she paused to try and keep the emotion out of her voice. "There were also two wounds on the bodies that were not from the stones," JJ explained before clicking through to a new set of pictures.

A rectangle of flesh was missing from Max Temple's right wrist, and the number 20195 was etched into his sternum. It was the same with Arthur Brenna with two minor changes: he had flesh missing from his left shoulder blade and the number on his sternum was 20161819.

Hotch shuffled through the file, "Do we know what the numbers mean?" he asked without looking up.

Six pairs of eyes turned to look at Reid, who stopped to think about it for a second. "They could mean various things, some of which would make sense to us and others that would only make sense to the UNSUB. However, seeing as the UNSUB actually took the time to carve these specific numbers into the victims' chests, it would stand to reason that they are extremely important to him." He stopped to think for a second before continuing, "The numbers themselves do not present any immediate meaning, yet could mean anything once plugged into the right equation or looked at within the right parameters."

The remaining five sets of eyes turned to look at Garcia before Reid had even finished his explanation. She didn't even have to ask what they needed, "Done and done, my pretties. I'll run them through every cipher, scenario and program I can find. I'll also run down all the background info on our two victims to see what pops up."

Morgan turned his attention back to the pictures on the screen, "Do we know anything about these pieces of skin?" he asked.

JJ shook her head. "Just that they were removed premortem. We're looking into the significance, but nothing's come up yet."

Hotch rose, effectively ending the meeting. "All right, wheels up in thirty." Emily stood to get her gear together, but stopped when her name was called.

"Hey Emily, do you have a minute?"

Emily smiled as she turned to face the blonde who waited until the room had been cleared before she stepped forward. JJ reached out, brushed her fingers down Emily's arm and breathed an internal sigh of relief when the brunette didn't flinch. Instead, brown eyes fluttered closed and it was Emily that sighed. JJ smiled nervously at her friend, "I wanted to check on us. I can't go back to having you avoid me again. I need for this, for us, to be okay," she admitted quietly.

Emily responded by sliding her hand into the blonde's, intertwining their fingers and squeezing before gently tugging her closer as well. "We'll talk after the case, okay?"

The anxiety that was previously in JJ's blue eyes didn't dissipate, "Promise me Em. Please, I need my best friend with me on this. Please don't shut me out again," JJ pleaded.

Emily smiled and nodded, "All right Jayje, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere."

To prove her point, the brunette pulled her friend in for a quick hug before heading out to gather her go-bag for their trip to Arkansas.

_xxxxxxxxx_

Emily Prentiss knew she was flirting with disaster. It was one thing to strap on the Kevlar vest and run headlong into a raid in search of a sociopath. It was something entirely different to put your heart out there for someone to take shots at. If Emily were being honest with herself, she'd rather take a bullet to the chest than have to deal with a broken heart. Emotional scars are the hardest ones to deal with because they're the ones that get ripped open more often, bleed more frequently, and hurt the longest. Emily knew that she had just put herself out there, let her walls slip a little more, when she promised not to shut JJ out.

Part of her was thrilled that JJ wanted her close by; that she got to be near the blonde. In fact, her body thrummed with life and nervousness that came with this knowledge. Still there was the bigger, stronger part that told her to cut and run. Doubt was beginning to settle in, and up until this point Emily had been able to keep it in check. If she kept telling herself that JJ just needed more time to tell her family, to come to terms with it herself, then she could keep working with her friend. Except now that little voice was telling her that JJ didn't really love her and if she had, she would have left Will already. And that voice was slowly picking away at her resolve and was digging even deeper trenches in her psyche.

Looking at JJ from across the plane, Emily's heart leapt at the sheer beauty of the woman before her. She couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her face as JJ settled into the seat across from her. Their eyes locked and emotionally charged hidden messages were conveyed between brown and blue. The moment was shattered however when Hotch asked, "What do we have so far?"  
JJ blushed and looked down at her file while Emily cleared her throat and instead focused on her boss. It was Reid who broke the silence first. He stated, "Based on the brutality of the attacks and the choice of mechanism the UNSUB used to kill his victims, it would point to a male between eighteen and thirty-five. Statistically speaking, UNSUBS with this type of MO are usually Caucasian and have a strong belief in something greater than themselves. He is most likely trying to prove a point, or believes himself to be on a mission of great importance."

Morgan quirked an eyebrow and asked, "What makes you say that?"

Emily answered, "The locations weren't that well hidden, the bodies were left in the open on display."

Rossi took over, "And look at the time table. Both kills were close together. He's attempting to shock us, to scare people into doing whatever it is he believes he's accomplishing."

Reid looked to be contemplating it all. "But why stone them?"

"It was the most gruesome way to get the public's attention?" Morgan guessed.

"Maybe he didn't have a weapon with the first victim, so he used what was available," Rossi supplied.

"Religion."

Five eyes turned to settle on the media liaison. When she didn't explain right away, Emily spoke up quietly so as not to spook her colleague, "What makes you say that JJ?"  
Blue eyes remained distant for a moment longer before JJ blinked and turned her attention back on her team. "Sinners were stoned for their wrongdoings in the Old Testament," she clarified

JJ blushed when the team collectively pinned her with a questioning look. "What? My family's devoutly Christian. I basically grew up in the church," she explained.

Reid jumped in when JJ didn't continue after a few moments. "Stoning as a way of punishing sinners was prevalent throughout the Old Testament, especially in books such as Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The use of it as an execution technique was no longer cited after 1 Kings 21:13 in which Naboth was stoned for blasphemy. That is until, interestingly enough, it gets mentioned again in the books of Acts, Hebrews and 2nd Corinthians of the New Testament. The most popular verses about stoning have to do with disobedient children, incest and blasphemy, even though there are a total of eighteen sins that resulted in stoning for the people of ancient Israel."

Reid stopped to allow all of this to sink in before he continued on, his eyes landing on each member of the team as he said, "This actually forces the question of actual number of UNSUBS. If these murders are linked to religion, then I would argue that the possibility of there being more than one UNSUB greatly increases. The use of stoning in the Bible is used as a group killing, with all members of the community participating."

"It was a way for everyone in the town to participate in cleansing the sin from their presence. If they got rid of the sinner there would be one less manifestation of that specific sin and therefore less temptation and less evil. The town would be more pure in their eyes," JJ supplied.

"So you mean there could be more than one?" Morgan asked.

Reid nodded as he answered, "Precisely."

"Great. Just what we need, another religious zealot," Emily grumbled under her breath. A glare from Hotch stopped her from voicing any other opinion she may have had on the matter however.

Morgan started to think out loud. "If we are dealing with a religious zealot, he's doing what he feels God demanded of all of us. What are the odds that the numbers carved on the victims' chests have something to do with that?"

All eyes turned to look at Reid. "I would say that they are pretty high. I'll coordinate with Garcia once we land," he suggested

Hotch nodded, "All right. Once we land Reid and JJ, you two head to the police station and get to work on victimology and the significance of the numbers. Emily, you and Morgan head to the first crime scene and then go interview Mr. Temple's family. Rossi and I will take the second crime scene and Mr. Brenna's family."

The group nodded and settled in to focus on the files in front of them. Emily's attention drifted towards JJ and she wasn't surprised to see the same emotions she was feeling reflected in her friend's eyes. Emily had a bad feeling about this case, and she could see that it was unnerving the liaison as well. She just hoped that they would all get out of this one in one piece. Hope and trust in her teammates, that's all she was running on at this point and Emily could only pray to whatever god was listening that it would be enough.

_xxxxxxxxx_

Emily groaned in appreciation as she stepped out of the scorching heat of this unusually warm spring weather and into the cool, dry air conditioning of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. It seemed the weather hadn't gotten the memo that it was supposed to be pleasant out, or that at dusk the temperature usually dropped. Morgan didn't seem to be faring any better in this weather as a similar noise escaped from him as he walked in next to her.

The exhaustion both agents were feeling at the moment was evident on their faces. The trip to the crime scene had proven to be useless; the scene had already been cleaned and the workers allowed to return. Nothing new presented itself to the two profilers so they had moved on to interviewing the family, which proved pointless as well. What little family Max Temple had—one sister and a mother suffering from early onset Alzheimer's—had closed ranks and refused to speak to the agents. They claimed that they didn't know anything, had already told the sheriff everything they _did_ know, and would very much appreciate being allowed to grieve in peace.

Emily ran a hand through her sweat-dampened hair as she followed Morgan further into the department. They stopped and quickly scanned the two rooms in front of them. The one on the right had Rossi and Hotch talking with an attractive brunette woman of about forty years and two pre-teen boys with dirty blonde hair. Arthur Brenna's family, or so Emily assumed.

The room on the left had Reid standing in front of a white board, his eyes scanning it furiously. Emily smiled at the determination the young doctor showed on all of their cases. But the boy genius didn't hold her attention for long as the other occupant in the room leaned across the table to reach for something. Emily allowed her eyes to unapologetically scan down JJ's figure, pausing at her backside appreciatively. She didn't hesitate before walking through the door.

She put her hand on JJ's shoulder and leaned across the table in front of the blonde, grabbed the elusive file and turned to hand it to her teammate. Emily couldn't help but notice the tinge of red that was creeping up the blonde's neck and cheeks. JJ's eyes were also trying very hard to avoid meeting Emily's as she took the file from her brunette colleague.

Emily chuckled and handed the file over before turning to look at the board Reid had set up. A quick glance told her all that she needed to know: there wasn't an obvious connection in the victimology.

"Did you find anything?" Morgan asked as he studied the board as well.

JJ sighed, as Reid gestured towards the information and said, "No, the only connecting factor between the two victims that we could find was that they were both Caucasian. Max Temple was young, middle class, and single with a lanky build and brown hair."

JJ stepped up next to everyone else and continued, "While Arthur Brenna was a forty-two year old CEO of a successful paper company, married with two kids, had an athletic build and blonde hair."

Emily flopped down into the chair next to her, "Worst case, ever," she groaned.

Three sympathetic looks were shot her way before Reid turned to Morgan and asked, "What did you two find?"

Morgan shrugged, "Not much." He paused as Hotch and Rossi entered the room then continued, "The scene had been cleared already, though it was a strange location. The area was secluded enough for the UNSUB to do what he needed to, but wasn't so far off the beaten path that the body would go undiscovered. The location would have also provided plenty of rocks for the UNSUB to use. There wasn't much else to learn from there."

The team all turned to look at Emily, who shook her head, "The family wasn't any more help," she supplied. "The sister claimed that they had already told the sheriff's department what they could remember. The mother has early onset Alzheimer's, so she wasn't much help. They closed ranks, and there wasn't a girlfriend or coworker we could find with any type of information."

"It wasn't much better with us either," Rossi said. "The wife couldn't think of anyone who could have done this. It seems that Mr. Brenna's business is doing fine, and all the employees are happy. Neither he nor his wife gave any indication of marital issues, and the bank records show that the family is living quite comfortably. The only real thing she could shed any light on was the piece of skin missing from his shoulder. Apparently, Arthur Brenna recently got a tattoo."

Reid's eyebrows shot together, "Really?"

Emily turned to look at him. "Well-to-do business men can't have tattoos?" she asked incredulously.

"It's not that at all. In fact, a large percentage of people in the United States have at least one. The statistical likelihood of him having a tattoo is therefore rather high. My surprise wasn't based on his socio-economic standing, instead it had to do with the fact that he was in his forties with a family, and had only recently received his first tattoo."

A look of amazement and utter confusion settled onto Emily's features. Instead of saying anything, she simply nodded for Rossi to continue. Hotch was the one to speak instead, "According to his wife, Mr. Brenna had his kids' names tattooed on his left shoulder blade almost two months ago."

JJ looked around the room before pointing to the corresponding picture for emphasis, "So what we're saying is that the UNSUB _removed_ his tattoo before killing him?" she asked.

Hotch nodded, his face the ever stoic mask. "It would appear that way, yes."

Rossi straightened from where he had been leaning against the table, "We did find something at the second crime scene though," he stated.

He walked forward and tacked a new picture next to the picture of Arthur Brenna chained in the field. "This rock was recovered at the scene. It was lying next to the body when the local LEO's arrived," he said.

The team all peered at the picture for a moment before Morgan turned to Rossi, "Is that another set of numbers etched onto the rock?"

The numbers 58102631 were clearly visible on a medium sized rock that was lying near the body. Hotch nodded in response to Morgan's question, "Yes, and the blood spatter evident on the rock suggests that it was used in the attack."

Emily sighed, "Do we know _anything_ about these numbers?"

Reid turned to look at her, the frustration and sadness evident on his face. "Not yet. They do not seem to fit into any of the codes or ciphers we know of. Garcia is currently running it through her decryption software, and we should have an answer shortly," he supplied.

Rossi shook his head, "I feel like this is the key to the profile."

Hotch simply closed his file. "It's getting late, and we really have nothing to go on right now. Tomorrow we will regroup and question the artist who did Arthur Brenna's tattoo. Until then, go get checked into the hotel and get some rest."

The rest of the team silently gathered their files and gear before heading out to the SUVs, leaving Emily and JJ standing alone in the room. JJ spoke first, "Do you want to get something to eat?"

Emily smiled as she agreed, "Sounds good to me."

Ten minutes later, the two women were settled into a booth at the diner near the hotel. "How are you holding up?" they asked each other at the same time.

Emily smiled as JJ flinched at how cliché that was. Emily motioned for JJ to go first. She smiled as she started, "I just wanted to check in with you, and see how you are doing."

Emily shrugged and said, "I'm doing okay. I'll be better when we finally get some time off."

JJ nodded in understanding as Emily continued, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," JJ answered.

Emily leveled a skeptical glance at the blonde. "Don't try and lie to me Jen. Seriously, how are you doing?"

JJ diverted her eyes, looking up at the waitress as she came by to take their order. She still didn't answer once the woman had gone, and Emily sighed before reaching out and covering JJ's hand with her own. The blonde took a deep breath and said, "I'm exhausted. It just seems like we've been bouncing from one brutal case to another, and I don't know how much longer I can keep this pace. I know that every case is difficult and inhumane, but these past few cases just seem more vicious than previous ones."

JJ paused and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Emily's face softened in understanding. "I know what you mean," Emily said.

The blonde continued, her free hand gesturing for emphasis. "Is it just me? Or do you feel more run down than usual? Because personally, I feel like this month has been merciless."

A gentle, sympathetic smile spread on Emily's face as she answered. "It's not just you. I know that all of our cases are difficult, but personally I'm exhausted. I was really looking forward to having a few days off, especially since my plans involved spending time with you."

The blonde blushed at that comment as she smirked. "Remind me to kick this UNSUB's ass for ruining your plan." JJ paused and smiled sincerely at Emily before she said, "Can we agree no shop talk tonight. I'm just too damn tired."

Emily squeezed JJ's hand in support, before removing hers from on top of the table so the waitress could put their food down. "That's fine JJ. Just remember, I'm here if you need to talk anything out. You're not alone in this."

JJ smiled her thanks to the brunette before starting in on her burger. The two of them let the serious talk fall to the wayside and focused on lighter topics for the remainder of their meal.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Huge thanks to everyone who read the last chapter and put it on alert, especially those who took time to review. As always, major thanks to AliceBB who takes the time to deal with all my grammar, continuity and characterization mistakes. That being said, all mistakes are ultimately mine. Also, these characters are still not mine, though I really wish they were.

* * *

Condensation clung to the mirrored surfaces as the steam milled around the confined space of the hotel bathroom. Emily roughly wiped away some of the collected moisture, and stared at herself in the reflective surface. She grimaced at how pronounced the purple bags under her eyes were. At least her physical appearance and emotional state were in sync because she felt as exhausted as she looked.

To say that she hadn't slept well would be an understatement. She hadn't slept at all, and it had nothing to do with being in a new place. The team spent enough time in hotel rooms in so many places that insomnia due to location didn't play a factor anymore. Emily tightened the towel around her before exiting the humid bathroom, making sure to turn the alarm off as she passed the nightstand. In her opinion, a 6:00 alarm was offensive, case or not.

Thirty minutes later, Emily was clipping her gun holster onto her belt when a knock sounded out, the sharp staccato harsh in the morning hours. She grabbed her credentials and headed out, expecting to see JJ standing in the hallway. She was surprised to find Morgan leaning casually against the wall opposite her door instead.

"Good morning sunshine."

Emily rolled her eyes, grunting in response. She turned and started making her way down the hall, not waiting for Morgan to catch up. Morgan waited until the elevator doors closed before he cleared his throat and turned his attention to his teammate. "You okay Emily?" he asked.

Emily turned a questioning glance his way. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. You just seem more tired than usual."

Emily chuckled, but the humor didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm not a morning person, you know that," she reasoned.

Morgan nodded. "Yeah, I know. Its just that this seems different."

Emily simply offered a shrug as an explanation.

Morgan sighed. "Look Prentiss, I understand that you're not so comfortable with opening up. Hell, none of us are. Just know that if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here," he said softly before slipping past her and out into the lobby where the rest of the team was waiting.

Emily watched Morgan's retreating form for a second wondering when exactly she had become so transparent. Shaking her head, she took a steadying breath and walked the twenty or so paces to stand next to Reid. Hotch nodded at the assembled unit as a way of greeting before jumping right into assignments. "Rossi and Morgan, I want you to interview Arthur Brenna's employees. See if there's anything there we haven't already covered. Prentiss, you and JJ go to the tattoo parlor and see if you can find the artist who did Arthur Brenna's tattoo. Reid and I will go interview Max Temple's co-workers."

The team split up and shouldered open the glass doors to step back into the unusual warmth of the day. The temperature was already warming up and it was only 0700 hours. Emily rolled her eyes; today was going to suck, she could feel it.

The atmosphere in the SUV had settled into a slightly tense silence. JJ knew that they were both focusing on the case, which could act like a double-edged sword at times. It was good for them to keep the case in the forefront of their minds, especially one as violent as this one. On the other hand however, they could very easily spend too much time dwelling on it. If they allowed that to happen, the darkness of the job would consume them, much like it had Gideon. And JJ would be damned if she was going to let that happen to Emily.

She reached towards the radio. "Do you mind?"

Emily turned her head to see what JJ was referring to. She smiled gratefully at the blonde as she assured, "Not at all."

JJ began flipping through the stations, "Anything in particular you want?"

"Nope. You pick. I'm sure you'll be able to pick up some country stations."

The rejection was immediate as the blonde protested, "Are you trying to torture me?"

Confusion settled on Emily's features. "What? Why would that be torture? I thought you liked country music."

JJ shook her head emphatically. "I may listen to it every once in a while, and even on those rare occasions, its more pop country like Carrie Underwood or the Rascal Flatts. Even then its extremely rare."

She paused for a beat before continuing, "Besides, I can't even think the word country without rolling my eyes."

Emily chuckled. "Why not?"

"Country is all Will listens to. I don't think he's aware that there's more to life than that southern-twangy-noise he justifies as music. I mean, would it kill him to at least listen to the good music from New Orleans like blues, or maybe some jazz!"

Emily's snort broke through JJ's rant. "I'm guessing he doesn't let you pick the music?" she asked.

"No! He insists on driving everywhere and he has this stupid rule that the driver picks the music."

JJ instantly calmed down when she felt Emily's hand envelope her own. The brunette intertwined their fingers and squeezed JJ's hand. She waited until all the tension had left the blonde's shoulders. Smiling reassuringly Emily quietly said, "You don't have to worry about that here, Jayje. I'll never make you listen to music you don't like, eat at restaurants you can't stand, or see movies you don't enjoy. No matter how this thing between us plays out, I won't hold your opinions, likes or dislikes against you."

The emotion within that statement was too overwhelming for the media liaison to deal with. So instead of answering, she nodded before a smile lit up her face. "Found something!"

Emily blinked a few times at JJ. When the answer she was looking for didn't magically appear, she just had to ask, "You like Ani Difranco? She doesn't seem like your type."

It was JJ's turn to look confused. "She's okay. I appreciate her music, but not one of my favorites. I thought she was one of yours though."

"Why would you think that? Because I'm gay?" Emily asked.

"Well… yeah."

Emily burst out laughing. "Oh, honey, just because I'm gay and she's big with lesbians doesn't mean I'm a big fan of hers. I'm actually not big into the angsty chick with a guitar scene. I have to be in a specific mood for it."

JJ blushed. "Oh. I just assumed…"

Emily squeezed her hand again and joked, "You have a lot to learn about lesbians. Shockingly, not all of us wear plaid, drive pickup trucks, play softball or have mullets. Not all of us hate men either."

A mischievous twinkle appeared in JJ's blue eyes. "I guess you'll have to teach me then," she husked as she ran her hand up Emily's arm

It took everything in Emily's power to safely pull the SUV to a stop outside a small house that had been converted into a tattoo parlor. The words "Epic Arts Tattooing" blinked lazily on the neon sign. The two agents looked at each other before stepping out of the vehicle and making their way into the shop.

A woman in her late twenties was sitting behind a counter her short blue hair was spiked up and away from her face. Emily's eyes traveled from the tattoos that adorned the side of the woman's face and neck down her ink-covered arms. And, if Emily had to guess, there were more hidden underneath her black tank top.

The woman didn't even look up at the two agents before speaking. "We're pretty booked for the rest of the day, especially if you're looking for something complicated. The earliest I can book you is sometime on Friday."

JJ looked at Emily in confusion before she said, "That's three days away. Are you seriously that busy?"

The woman shrugged and replied, "Tattoos are in right now, and we're the best shop in town."

Emily shook her head and pulled out her credentials, tossing them onto the counter to catch the woman's attention. "Actually we're not here for a tattoo. We're from the FBI. I'm Agent Prentiss and this is Agent Jareau. We have some questions."

That caught the woman's attention, especially once she flipped open Emily's credentials. She immediately sat up straighter and asked, "What can I help you with?"

JJ pulled a picture of Arthur Brenna out of her pocket and handed it over. "Have you ever seen this man?" she asked.

Blue hair refused to move as the woman nodded and answered, "Yeah. He was here about two, maybe three months ago. He got words tattooed to his left shoulder blade. Hang on, I'll pull his information for you."

She made quick work of the computer system, pulling his file up in a time that would make Garcia proud. A few moments later, both Emily and JJ were holding a copy of the information, which wasn't much more than his name, birth date, payment information and his liability waiver. Emily scanned it quickly and without looking up asked, "Is the artist here?"

The sound of chair wheels moving quickly on the hardwood floor made Emily's head snap up in time to watch the woman sail away from the counter and towards the open door behind her. She knocked on the wall loudly until the mechanical buzzing from the tattoo guns stopped. "Trent, the FBI is here about a tattoo you did a few months ago."

She pushed off the wall and flew back towards the two agents. "He'll be out in a sec," she supplied.

Two minutes later a Caucasian man in his early thirties stepped from the back room and walked towards Emily and JJ. He was dressed in a flannel shirt that had the arms ripped off and a black cross embroidered on the left breast pocket. He was apparently tattoo free which struck Emily as a little odd for a tattoo artist. His hair was a shaggy brown that fell slightly in his eyes. He took the last couple of steps forward and extended his hand. "Trent Rodgers. What can I do for you?" he asked.

Emily grasped his hand and firmly shook it, never breaking eye contact. This man exuded confidence and he seemed very comfortable and in his element. She smiled as she introduced herself, "Agent Emily Prentiss. This is Agent Jareau. We have a few questions for you."

The tattoo artist released Emily's hand and casually leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest as he did so. JJ handed him the picture. "Do you know this man?"

Trent Rodgers studied it for a second and then nodded. "Absolutely; I tattooed two names to his left shoulder blade two months ago. I'm pretty sure they were his kids' names. If I remember correctly, his name is Brenna. Ummm, Arthur Brenna," he supplied.

Emily quirked an eyebrow at him surprised. "That's a pretty good memory, especially since he was here two months ago."

Rodgers shrugged and replied, "I remember all the tattoos I do. That way I'm prepared in case they come back. Why are you asking about him? Is he in some kind of trouble?"

JJ shook her head. "Not exactly. His body was found yesterday," she said.

Rodgers straightened slightly, the confusion apparent as he asked, "He's dead? Oh man, he seemed like a nice guy."

Emily chose not to comment on that and instead continued by asking, "Did anything stand out about him, anything odd? Anything or anyone that seemed out of place?"

Rodgers answered without hesitation, "Nope. He came in, I tattooed him, he tipped me a twenty and then left with instructions on how to keep it clean. He sent me a picture of that tattoo a couple of weeks later for my portfolio, but other than that I didn't notice anything. Sorry."

JJ took over the questioning, "What did you two talk about while you were doing the tattoo?"

"Nothing much. He talked mostly about his kids and his business. It seemed like he was really proud of those two boys."

Emily nodded and handed him her card. "Thank you for your time. If you think of anything else, please don't hesitate to call," she said.

He nodded. "Will do. Sorry I couldn't be more help."

With that Rodgers turned and went back towards the rear of the shop. Emily and JJ headed out the front door, back into the heat of the late morning hours. JJ slid into the passenger seat. "I would never get a tattoo. With my luck, I'd regret it later on. That being said, I can see the appeal."

Emily started the vehicle. "Oh yeah?"

JJ nodded as she answered, "Absolutely. I think they're interesting, and—on the right person—sexy as hell."

A smirk tugged at the corner of Emily's mouth. The look she sent JJ's way could only be described as smug. "Fascinating. I'm going to have to remember that for later."

JJ chuckled, "Why?"

The smirk simply grew and the look in Emily's eyes turned devilish. JJ looked at Emily in confusion before realization hit. "You have one, don't you?"  
Emily simply laughed.

"Oh my God! You do! Where is it? And how come I don't know this?"

Emily shrugged. "You never asked," she reasoned as a way to evade the question JJ really wanted answered.

The blonde was not to be deterred though. "Come on Em. What is it? And more importantly, where is it?"

The brunette shook her head. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

JJ groaned and leaned back in the seat, "You are such a tease!"

"Well if you're good, I may be so inclined to show you later," the brunette stated.

JJ almost whimpered at the implication behind that. "So not helping right now," she whined.

Emily's laughter bounced around the interior of the vehicle as she continued to drive, her focus on the road.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX 

Derek Morgan tried not to pace within the confines of the waiting room he and Rossi were currently standing in. It wasn't like he was an impatient man by nature; instead it had to do with the fact that they had been waiting in this overly ornate room for the last twenty minutes. Apparently, Alex Miller was a very busy man.

Finally the receptionist looked up at them and said, "Mr. Miller can see you now."

Rossi nodded his thanks as he and Morgan walked into the office that was connected to the waiting room. A white man in his mid thirties stood from behind his desk, the coat of his suit long forgotten on the back of his chair. His black hair was slightly ruffled, his tie was loosened and his blue eyes were dull with exhaustion. He stuck his hand out and apologized, "I'm sorry to keep you agents waiting. I'm Alex Miller. Things have been really busy around here since Arthur's dea… um, since yesterday."

Rossi shook his hand and said, "I understand. You're the VP of the company?"

Miller smiled sadly and corrected him, "I was. But apparently Arthur thought I could keep things running around here, so he left the CEO position to me."

Morgan stopped looking around the office and turned his attention to the flustered man. "He left it all to you?" he asked.

Alex Miller nodded. "The workload is mine, but Arthur made sure his family would stay financially supported in case something happened to him. So his wife and I are more or less partners."

Rossi studied him as he asked, "Does she have any say in the business aspect of the company?"

The businessman shook his head and responded, "No. All the business decisions are mine, but the company is now under both of our names so she can continue to receive payments. Kind of like a silent partner."

He paused a moment to collect himself before he continued. "Arthur built this place from the ground up. We always joked that it was his third kid. It makes sense that he would want to keep it in the family, just in case his boys want to take it over someday. He was so very proud of this business and those boys."

Morgan spoke up again, "Did you notice anything different about Mr. Brenna's behavior recently? A change in his schedule maybe? Or did you notice anything or anyone suspicious?"

Miller thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "I can't think of anything. Everything seemed the same, he seemed the same: focused on his work and his family."

Rossi pressed further, "Anything else seem out of place?"

"No. Nothing seemed any different; we haven't even taken on any new clients recently. And before you ask, everyone here really liked Arthur. He was good to his employees. Arthur Brenna was good people, if that makes sense," Miller finished.

Morgan nodded, "Yeah, we get it. If there's anything else you can think of, give us a call."

Alex Miller nodded and took the card that Rossi was handing him. He continued to look at it as the two agents walked out of his office and onto the elevator. Silence settled between the two agents, even as they slid into the SUV and merged into traffic on their way back to the sheriff's office.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX 

Reid picked up the picture frame from the desk in front of him, turning it over so he could see what was inside. He skimmed the front page clipping of the tabloid magazine, smirking slightly at the headline splashed across the page in big bold letters: "Space Needle Proven to be UFO!" The picture right underneath it was a grainy black and white image of what appeared to be the Seattle Space Needle taking off. Smiling, he showed the headline to Hotch, who merely blinked at it.

The door behind the genius opened and he placed the frame back onto the desk before turning to face the man who entered. Hotch stepped towards the Caucasian man in his mid twenties, who was dressed in a light blue button down shirt and bleached blue jeans. A large leather watchband on his left wrist and a silver cross hanging around his neck completed the ensemble.

The man pointed at the picture frame Reid had just put down and explained, "That was Max's first cover story. Our readers enjoyed it so much that we gave him work on celebrity relationships."

He shook his head slightly and turned to Hotch, sticking his hand out. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Levi Parker. I'm the editor in chief here at _The Daily Rag_."

Hotch accepted Parker's handshake and introduced himself. "I'm SSA Hotchner. And this is Dr. Reid. We have a few questions about Max Temple."

Levi Parker nodded. "Of course. Anything I can do to help you find whoever did this. Max was a great guy and a great employee."

Reid stepped forward and began, "I'm sorry. Did you say that you are the editor in chief?"

Parker smiled at him before explaining, "Yes. I know; I'm younger than most people who hold my position. I just got lucky I guess."

Hotch steered the conversation back to Temple. "What was Mr. Temple working on prior to his death?"

The editor thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers. "It was a exposé on a drug ring being run out of local restaurants," he explained.

Reid shared a look with Hotch before asking; "He was writing a piece on a drug ring? I'm not usually wrong about things, but my overall knowledge of certain areas of pop culture is a little fuzzy. I personally never really saw the benefit of knowing what celebrities are currently doing in their everyday lives."

Hotch cleared his throat to get Reid back on track. Reid simply smiled in apology as he continued, "Even with all of that, my understanding of tabloid journalism is that it doesn't, in fact, focus on issues that are so serious or important."

Levi Parker paused to process what was just said, his head nodding numbly along on its own accord for a few seconds before his brain finally caught up. He stepped around Hotch and pulled a manuscript off the desk. "It usually doesn't, but Max wasn't working on the story for the _Rag_. He and I were working on starting a magazine that was more investigative journalism than tabloid reporting. Max and I both agreed that our talents were being wasted here, so we were trying to start our own publication." He handed the papers over to Hotch.

Hotch accepted the manuscript and asked, "Did anyone else know that Mr. Temple was writing this piece?"

"No one else other than me, his sources, and now you."

Reid spoke up again, "Are his sources reliable?"

Parker nodded emphatically, "Most of his sources have worked as informants for the police as well."

Reid found it curious how Levi Parker knew this bit of information and shot a sidelong glance at Hotch.

"Can you think of anyone that would want to hurt Mr. Temple? Maybe other employees, or an ex?" Hotch asked.

The editor didn't have to think before he answered, "No. Everyone loved Max. I just don't understand how something like this could happen."

Hotch nodded in understanding before handing the younger man his card. "If you can think of anything else…" he let the sentence trail off, the meaning clear to the editor.

Levi Parker took the card and then said, "If you need anything else, let me know."

The two agents nodded and then walked out of the office, letting the door shut behind them. They made their way to the SUV and Reid finally spoke as Hotch began the drive back to the sheriff's department, "I hope the others had more luck than we did."

Hotch didn't react as he continued to drive the ten or so miles to the department.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX 

Emily walked into the room the team was currently using as a base of operations, four coffee cups balanced in a carrier. She placed the carrier on the table and accepted the one that JJ was handing her. They shared a quick smile before Emily winked at the blonde and made her way to a seat on the other side of the table. Hotch looked at JJ as she and Emily got situated before asking, "How did it go with the tattoo artist?"

JJ shrugged as Emily answered, "He wasn't really helpful, which we kind of expected. According to Trent Rodgers, the tattoo artist, Arthur Brenna was a good guy. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but their interaction was minimal. Brenna's tattoo was his kids' names, so the time they spent together would probably be limited to an hour at the most."

Rossi continued with the details of his visit to Alex Miller. "The same could be said for Mr. Brenna's VP. He claims that everyone loved Arthur Brenna and that there weren't any issues with his employees. There weren't any people hanging around or anything that seemed out of the ordinary."

Morgan jumped in, "It may or may not be important, but Alex Miller, the VP, and Mrs. Brenna inherited the company."

The team let that information sink in for a moment before Hotch said, "Max Temple's editor gave us an article that Mr. Temple had been working on that would expose a drug ring being run out of local restaurants. That may be a lead worth looking into. JJ, you and Emily take a look at it. Focus on things that seem out of the ordinary, or players that fit the profile."

Hotch then turned to Reid and asked, "Where are we with those numbers?"

Reid shrugged. "I just got off the phone with Garcia and nothing has come up so far. They don't fit symmetric or asymmetric key algorithms, and a Feistel cipher is out of the question. They don't seem to be fitting any of the other known ciphers, so they must mean something only to the UNSUB. We won't be able to figure it out until we get a better profile."

Reid took a much-needed breath and continued before anyone could interrupt him, "The same goes for the geographical profile. I couldn't sleep last night, so I started mapping out the geographic locations. There is only so much I can do with only the two dump sites as references."

Hotch held up a hand to silence the genius before he said, "Keep working on that. Add the tattoo parlor and the victims' offices. Let's see if that turns anything out."

He turned to Morgan and Rossi. "You two get to work on the phone records. If the numbers don't correspond to family or friends, I want to know about it," he delegated.

With that the unit chief stood and moved to toward the door. He paused and turned back to his team. "Let's get this done. We need a profile to present, so find that missing link."

With that he turned and walked out of the room, leaving his agents to do what they did best. Emily stood and grabbed her coffee off the table, moving to the chair next to JJ that had been vacated by Hotch. She slid into it and pulled a copy of the article towards her before reaching for a pen that was lying out on the table. As she reached for it, she purposely brushed the blonde's hand. Emily smirked when she felt the tremor from JJ that danced quickly passed her fingers.

JJ's breath caught in her throat, and she closed her eyes to fully relish the feel of Emily's hand on hers. The contact didn't last too long however, nowhere as long as JJ would have liked, before Emily focused on the article. The look of determination on her face was mirrored by JJ's own feelings: they needed to find this bastard so she could go back to figuring her own life out. JJ threw a quick sidelong glance at Emily and couldn't stop the swelling of emotions within her. Emily was truly magnificent, but was it enough? Could she risk everything to be with the brunette? Could she risk losing her family on the chance that she and Emily could actually be together?

All those fears vanished as Emily tossed a look at JJ from the corner of her eye. The smirk that was now firmly on Emily's face told JJ that she had been caught staring.

JJ's mind shifted direction as she began to wonder what it would be like to be with Emily. To wake up next to her every morning, to know that Emily was hers, to be able to kiss those lips whenever she wanted would be…_unbelievable. Amazing. Staggering. Immensely satisfying. Just to name a few._

She started to chew on the end of her pen as her mind went further. True, she could lose everything by being with Emily, but JJ couldn't deny the fact that the brunette made her exceedingly happy. So happy that she couldn't keep the smile off of her face whenever she was near Emily.

There were so many problems when she was with Will. There was so much tension between them, and it wasn't the good kind of tension she could feel building between her and Emily. Will had also been bringing up marriage more often, which was usually followed by him requesting that she quit her job. She was starting to feel pressured by his very presence.

Yet, when she took a step back, she realized none of that was present when she was with the gorgeous woman in front of her. Maybe once she got over the fear of coming out and the inevitable family drama, life with Emily could be _that_ easy.

"JJ, you okay?"

Emily's question pulled her out of her musings. JJ turned and gave Emily a reassuring smile. "Yeah. Sorry."

Emily returned the smile before focusing back on the transcript in front of her.

JJ shook her head to clear the remainder of her previous thoughts. This case needed her attention now; everything else could wait until later. What she needed to focus on was finding this guy before he killed again, and JJ seriously hoped that they could because no one deserved to die that way. The only problem was that it seemed he needed to kill again before they could complete the profile. Sometimes JJ really hated her job. She sighed as she dove into the work in front of her, throwing a quick prayer to any god that was listening. They were going to need it.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **_Okay, so I know this is a little late, and I could leave a ton of excuses as to why it's late, but I won't bore you with them. Anyway, major thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter: you really know how to make a girl blush. Also, I should mention that I've been reading John Douglas' books, and they have helped me with the profiling aspect of this story. I highly recommend them to anyone interested in profiling.  
_

_As always, major credit goes to AliceBB for putting up with my terrible ability to get things done on time, and my more than ridiculous rough drafts. I was going to say that if these characters were mine, JJ would be back at the BAU, but apparently someone already beat me to it._

* * *

Emily groaned and pulled the covers tighter around her body, hoping that the noise that had pulled her from sleep was a one-time deal. The tentative knocking that sounded again from the door had Emily up and moving to see what was going on. If she had known it was someone at the door that had woken her, she wouldn't have tried to go back to sleep. Once she had opened the heavy door, Emily was met with a very tired looking JJ.

"What's going on?" Emily yawned through the question.

The blonde shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."

Everything JJ hadn't said was obvious to the brunette as she moved away from the door to let the blonde in. JJ hadn't needed to tack the unspoken _again_ on the end of her sentence. Her exhaustion was painfully obvious in her eyes and shoulders. Both women stood awkwardly looking at each other for a moment before Emily rolled her eyes and made her way to the bed.

"Get in."

It wasn't a demand or an order, and JJ seemed to take it as the suggestion it was. The covers were pulled back half way before JJ hesitated. "Are you sure?" she timidly asked.

Emily slid into her side of the bed, reached over to grab the blonde's hand and tugged on it. Emily did not like shy JJ and wasn't particularly enjoying how often that side of the blonde appeared when they were around each other. Though the more Emily thought about it, the more she reasoned JJ's behavior was born from either her confusion about everything or insecurities because she'd never been with a woman.

JJ slid in next to the brunette and let the awkward silence reign once again. Emily sighed and moved closer to JJ. "You want to talk about it?"

She could feel the bed shift slightly as JJ rolled away from her. "Not really," was the answer Emily received.

Emily didn't want to pressure the liaison into anything so she answered with, "I'm here if you ever want to," instead.

JJ sighed and scooted closer to the brunette. She had expected Emily to pry, to insist that JJ tell her what was wrong. Inwardly the blonde was happy that Emily hadn't because she wasn't sure exactly how to put into words what was bothering her. How was she supposed to tell Emily that she'd been having dreams about their life together?

Some of the dreams were of them together with Henry, Emily carrying Henry while they walked around the National Zoo, or the three of them on vacation together. She had even had more mundane dreams about all of them cooking dinner together. But tonight was different. Tonight was another dream in the long list of sexually charged dreams.

This dream had started as any of the others had, with the two of them in any number of places they see on a daily basis. Sometimes it was in her office, sometimes in a storage closet at work, sometimes in Emily's bed, and then there was that one dream with them in Strauss' office. But regardless of where they were, it always ended the same way... with JJ screaming the brunette's name until her throat became raw.

Even though they were dreams, JJ had never felt so happy or satisfied as she had in those intimate dream moments. She was no stranger to good lovers, even some amazing ones, yet the idea of being with Emily left her wet, wanting, and needing more. If the real thing was anything like her dreams, it would be the most amazing experience of her life.

But as quickly as it had shifted to something so pleasant, it shifted even faster to something JJ never wanted to experience again. Emily had gotten up and started walking to the door. No matter how much JJ had pleaded with her, had begged her to stay, Emily had continued out the door without so much as a backward glance.

"It will always be him," Emily whispered just before she faded from view.

JJ remained rooted to the spot, her body ignoring her commands to get up, to go after Emily. She was forced to simply yell after the older agent, so JJ had yelled until her voice cracked and the tears started.

In her dream, it felt like she was crying for hours. The painful sobs wracked her body as immense loneliness and complete emptiness twisted in her chest and made it even harder to breathe. The dream continued in this way until a hand settled on her forearm. The touch was supposed to be gentle with the intent to soothe and comfort, yet it wasn't the hand or the touch JJ had so desperately wanted. So she had struggled to free herself to no avail. His southern drawl only made her fight even more.

"She's gone JJ. She's not coming back. Emily left, she doesn't love you. Not like I do. You're not good enough for her and she knows it. You're mine. You've always been mine," Will growled.

JJ continued to struggle against suffocating in his presence, under his controlling hand. "No! She loves me!"

"Then why did she leave?" he countered. "This is right. What we have is normal and it's what is expected from us. Do the right thing and come home to me. You _will _be my wife."

Will reached out, pulled her close and held her. All JJ could feel during this part of the dream was absolute revulsion. She felt deserted and betrayed by Emily in the dream, and once she woke, she had to make sure Emily was still there, that Emily still cared. If the brunette hadn't answered the door, she wasn't sure what would have happened.

JJ jumped as an arm dropped over her waist like Will's had in her dream. Emily sighed and pulled the blonde closer, laying a gentle kiss on the side of her head.

"You're thinking too loudly. Get some sleep," mumbled Emily, her voice thick with sleep.

JJ smiled to herself as her body relaxed back against Emily's. She intertwined their fingers and let her mind clear. The last thought she had before drifting off to sleep was how _right_ lying in Emily's arms felt.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

The shrill ringing of a phone yanked JJ out of the deep, albeit dreamless, sleep she had been having. She pulled away from the security of Emily's embrace to answer the device, cursing whoever had created such an offending item. Even with the annoyance of being awoken in such a way, JJ did have the pleasure of watching as Emily grunted and pulled her pillow from under her only to cover her head with it.

"Jareau."

There was no formal greeting or inquiry as to how she was this morning. Only a gruff, "There's another body," stated before the line went dead. JJ groaned, dropping her head back to her pillow; she was really starting to hate this case.

"Another victim?" Emily questioned, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Unfortunately."

Emily tossed the pillow onto the floor before she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Damn. I was having such a good dream."

JJ turned to look at her, the question obvious in her eyes. Emily chuckled. "Yes, it was about you."

The brunette winked as she stood and made her way into the bathroom, leaving the blonde staring after her wondering exactly when her mouth had gotten so dry. JJ continued to stare until her phone buzzed a minute later alerting her of a text from the sheriff with the new crime scene location.

Forty-five minutes later, the BAU members were hiking down a barely visible path into a small valley. The sheriff was a couple of paces ahead of Emily, walking in stride with Hotch. "A couple of campers found the bodies early this morning as they were hiking out at 0630," he explained.

"Did you say bodies? As in plural?" Reid interrupted.

Sheriff Burroughs didn't turn to look at the young doctor as he nodded. "Two bodies. One male, one female."

JJ leaned over. "Did he say 0630?" she whispered to Emily.

Emily couldn't stop the smile at the look of abject horror on the liaison's face. The profiler could only shrug in response as they came to the end of the trail.

Ahead in the clearing they could see the body of a Latino male tied to a tree, his arms wrapped around the trunk. A few yards away the body of Caucasian female leaning heavily against what looked like an old fencepost. Both bodies had been stripped of their clothing from the waist up, though the female had been covered with a blanket. Evidence of blunt force trauma was obvious on both victims.

The sheriff approached the bodies, his notepad out. He pointed with the booklet. "We have patrols searching the area for where this post came from. It seems unlikely that the suspect would have brought it here along with the victims."

Rossi looked up from where he had been squatting next to the female victim. "Do we know anything about them?"

More indicating with the notepad by the sheriff, "The male vic was Jesse Reese, thirty-six, local firefighter."

The team studied the body for a few moments, long enough to see that the victim had skin removed from his right bicep and the number 58134 was visibly etched into his sternum once the body was pulled back away from the tree. Burroughs continued, "He and his wife have been happily married for eight years with no children. And before you ask, there wasn't any indication of marital issues… until now."

At the curious looks from the BAU team, the sheriff cleared his throat. "It's a small town, everyone in the business knows one another. Besides, emergency service personnel tend to talk. A lot," he clarified.

He turned his attention to the female victim. "Nicole Marley, thirty-one, single. She was one of the busier prostitutes here in town. We picked her up a couple of months ago for solicitation and she was released yesterday."

Emily was the first to step forward towards the body. She sighed as she pulled back the blanket and couldn't stop the gasp from escaping. The team looked at her until she pulled the blanket all the way back to show the large amount of skin missing form the victim's left side. The wound started at her hip, wrapped around her side and stopped just below her left shoulder blade. The number 46615 was carved into her sternum. Emily waited for the okay from Hotch before replacing the blanket, making sure the young woman was completely covered once again.

Morgan turned to Sheriff Burroughs. "Was the blanket on her when she was found, or did one of your officers, maybe one of the hikers, cover her?" he asked.

One of the deputies stepped forward. "The hikers claim the blanket was there when they found the bodies. Why?"

Reid didn't hesitate to answer. "Other than the fact that placing the blanket on the body would have been tampering with the crime scene, it could have presented a problem concerning time of death," he supplied.

"How so?"

Reid continued, "For example, it could have stalled the body's declining temperature and thus provided an inaccurate reading, which is important because it would help establish a timeline. In a case like this, where it is possible to have more than one UNSUB, knowing when the victims were killed and in what order could be imperative to establishing an accurate profile. In the case of one UNSUB, the victims would have been killed at different times, though relatively close together. However, with multiple UNSUBS, both victims could have been killed at the same time."

He paused to take a much-needed breath, but continued on immediately after. "It also alludes to the UNSUB's character because if none of your deputies covered the body, it means that either the UNSUB, or one of them, did. Statistically speaking, UNSUBs who cover their victims' bodies feel something towards the victim. A husband who murders his wife will undoubtedly wrap her completely in a sheet or blanket. This shows a protectiveness and caring for the victim. Likewise a parent who murders his or her child would wrap the body almost as if tucking them into bed in an attempt to protect the body from exposure to the elements, or…"

"What Doctor Reid is trying to say is that the fact that the blanket was only draped over the upper body suggests that it was done out of convenience," Emily interrupted to clarify after seeing the perplexed faces of the assembled group.

JJ's brow furrowed in confusion. "But hers is the only body that's been covered so far," she pointed out.

Emily nodded. "Which means that he, on some level, cares about modesty and decency. Is that what you were trying to explain?" she asked looking at Reid.

Reid sighed, his face showing his mild annoyance. "I was getting to that."

Hotch turned to his team. "Reid, you and JJ head back to the station. Get that geographical profile done. JJ, I need you to start setting up a press conference. Emily, you're on the scene. Get the witness statements and finish processing here, then go with the bodies to the morgue. I want copies of the autopsy reports. Morgan, Rossi and I will start on the family members. Meet back at the station in two hours."

The team all nodded before heading off to perform their assigned tasks. Emily sighed as she turned and looked at the four young adults who were apparently the county's most avid hikers to be up and moving by 0630. She rolled her eyes before pushing her sunglasses further up her nose and heading over to them; the sooner she got this done, the sooner she could get out of here.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

Emily dropped into a seat in the sheriff's department two hours later, with six coffees and two folders in her hand. She rolled her neck until it popped and then leaned back so her head was resting on the back of the chair. If there was one thing Emily had learned on this job, it was that you should rest whenever possible, and right now was one of those moments. The sound of the door to their office space opening made Emily cringe inwardly. _Spoke too soon_ she thought.

"I thought I saw you come in."

Emily had to suppress the moan that was threatening to escape as JJ stood behind her chair and started playing with her hair. The brunette had no idea what was causing JJ's sudden boost in confidence to be interacting in this way, but Emily was not about to complain; having her hair played with was always one of her little known weaknesses.

"How's it going with the press?" Emily asked. She had to bring up some innocent topic of conversation, if only to keep her mind off of what she'd rather be doing with the blonde.

JJ made a noncommittal noise as she removed her hands and settled into the chair next to Emily. The brunette cracked an eye to skeptically regard her colleague. "That's all you can say? A grunt? That's it?"

JJ smiled. "I don't know what you want me to say. It's the press. They want answers that I either don't have, or can't give."

The door to the room opened as the rest of the team entered. Emily sat up straighter. "I know how they feel," she muttered to herself.

She hadn't meant for JJ to hear her, but the hurt and confusion that flashed on the blonde's face cut Emily to the core. She quickly fumbled for an apology. "Jen…"

"Don't worry about it," JJ snapped the pain obvious in her voice.

Emily looked at her for a couple more seconds before turning her attention to the rest of her team who had obviously picked up on the tension in the room. Morgan cleared his throat. "Everything okay?"

"Fine. What did you guys find?" JJ asked, desperate to move the attention off of her and Emily.

Hotch regarded his two agents before he decided not to press the issue for now. "Prentiss?"

And like that, the tension was pushed to the background as they focused instead on the case. Emily handed the two coroner's reports to her boss. "Not much was recovered on scene. The fencepost came from a nearby cabin site, so there wasn't much to go on there. CSU teams found another rock with the number 58102631 etched into it. I sent that to the lab for analysis, maybe we can get something from the type of rock or something."

She paused to make sure the team was still on the same page before pressing on. "The witness statements are pretty cut and dry. The group was getting an early start for their hike to another campsite a good thirty miles away, when they literally stumbled on the bodies. One of the hikers went to call for help while the others stayed with the bodies. All witnesses agree that the bodies were only touched once, to check for a pulse."

Now she indicated the files she had brought from the coroner's office. "Autopsy of both Max Temple and Arthur Brenna revealed cause of death as blunt force trauma, but what was interesting was that the ME found traces of benzodiazepine in both victims."

Reid's head shot up from the paper he had been reading. "That would certainly explain how the UNSUB managed to get the victims to the location and tied up without evidence of a struggle," he reasoned.

The team let the information about the knock out drug sink in before Rossi pushed on with what they had found. "Mr. Reese's family wasn't all that helpful. They couldn't think of anyone who would want to hurt him. And up until today, Mrs. Reese wasn't aware that her husband had been unfaithful."

Morgan took over, pointing at the picture of the missing skin on the victim's arm. "She did identify that as the location of a tattoo. It was the firefighter's shield, and apparently, he got it a couple of months ago. She couldn't' remember where he got it done though."

Reid stepped in. "What about Nicole Marley's family?"

Hotch didn't look up from the coroner's report he was reading. "Her brother will be in later to identify the body and answer questions," he said before tossing the report onto the table. "There has to be something we're missing. Let's go back over everything and find that missing link."

The room settled into a silence punctuated occasionally by the sound of pages turning, until JJ stood and headed for a coffee refill about an hour later. She was in the middle of putting more sugar into the black liquid when she heard someone come to a stop behind her. After she put the coffee cup down onto the counter, JJ turned and regarded the man standing before her. He glared at her, the tension obvious in his jaw and shoulders. "Why aren't you out there looking for her killer!" he demanded.

JJ extended her hand to him. "Mr. Marley, I'm Special Agent Jareau. I am so sorry for your loss."

His eyes darted down to her hand for a second before turning his attention back on her. "I want answers!" he shouted, causing JJ to step back at the ferocity in his voice.

JJ held her hands up in a placating manner. "I understand sir, but if we could just…"

"I don't think you do understand!" he roared. "My sister was murdered this morning by some freak, and everyone is just standing here!"

Jennifer Jareau wasn't one who usually felt afraid of another human being, even with all the darkness she saw on a daily basis. But in this moment she was a little afraid of this man. Noah Marley was not a small man by any means; he was well over six feet tall and had close to two hundred pounds of muscle on his frame. Add to that the fact that he was grieving the loss of his sister and was obviously furious; he made for one scary mix. And that full two hundred pounds was currently coiled tensely in front of her, his harsh panting giving away just how worked up he was.

JJ backed the remaining steps until her back hit the counter. She tried to take a few calming breaths; this was her job, this is what she had been trained for. Keeping her hands up so as not to spook Mr. Marley further, JJ tried again. "Mr. Marley, if you would just come with me, I have a few questions I need you to answer."

Fury flashed in his brown eyes. "You want me to answer some questions? You can't be serious! There's a killer out there, and you want to sit here and talk!"

"Sir, any information you could give us would be helpful in finding the man who killed Mr. Reese…"

The space between them shrunk dramatically as Noah Marley surged forward into the blonde's personal space. He grabbed her arms, effectively pinning her in place as if his bulk hadn't already done that. JJ couldn't help the fear that coursed through her momentarily before she could get a handle on the emotion. This situation had someone gotten way out of hand, and she couldn't think of a way to diffuse it.

"That's all you care about isn't it! You only care about finding the man who killed that firefighter! You don't give a damn about my sister do you!"

"Mr. Marley, please." JJ didn't know what she was asking for, but she hoped it would help calm him just enough for him to let go. She hoped it would buy her enough time to come up with a way to calm him down.

"No, you know what, it's about time somebody did something about this! You don't give a shit about my sister because she was a prostitute!" he hollered.

JJ didn't know what to say to placate this man, to tell him that they were doing everything they could to find the UNSUB. She wanted so badly to tell him that his sister was not just another nameless face, that his sister was Nicole Marley and that she mattered. Yet when she opened her mouth to explain all this, nothing came out.

Noah Marley took this as a concession to his thoughts and brought his hand back as if to strike the blonde. All JJ could do was flinch, fully expecting the blow that was coming her way. On some level, she thought she deserved it because they hadn't caught the UNSUB yet, and they weren't really any closer to finding him.

Instead of feeling the immediate pain of being hit, JJ's body flew to the left as Noah Marley's arms were suddenly yanked off of her. Blue eyes opened in time to see the blur of one body colliding harshly with another, and her hands reached out to stop her fall.

Once she was sure she was going to stay upright, JJ focused on the commotion. Emily had hit the victim's brother in a flying tackle and both were sprawled out on the floor in front of her. There wasn't much time to process this before the brunette was on her feet, dragging Mr. Marley with her, slamming him face first into the wall.

"Noah Marley, you're under arrest for the assault of a federal agent," she growled. Leaning in even closer to the still struggling man, Emily began tightening cuffs on his wrists. "If you so much as look at her again, I will do so much worse than put you in jail. You'll actually beg to be arrested. Understand?" she threatened.

Emily tugged on his arms and pulled him to the door of the room, her hands tightened on him as he continued to struggle. A couple of deputies were standing outside the break room and Emily shoved Noah Marley towards them.

Time seemed to stand still for the blonde. She knew that Emily was saying something to the deputies, but she couldn't hear over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. JJ could only stare at the back of Emily's head, the adrenaline from the confrontation pumping strong in her system. Pulling her shirt straight, she cleared her throat, quickly took in the faces of the officers looking at her before she turned and beat a hasty retreat to the bathroom.

Emily sighed as she watched the deputies pull a still struggling Noah Marley to the holding cells. She had been making her way to the bathroom when she heard the shouting inside the break room, and stopped to see what was going on. Inside, Emily watched as Noah Marley cornered the liaison, his body tight with coiled tension and anger.

She had no idea what came over her, but the need to protect JJ had been strong, it had been immediate, and it had been visceral. If it had been any one else from the team, Emily would have trusted them to handle it themselves. And when she first took in the situation, she had every intention of letting JJ handle it. But then he had put his hands on the blonde and Emily was moving before she thought about it.

Running a hand through her hair, Emily turned and looked at the rest of her team who had come to see what the problem was. "Where did she go?" she questioned.

Reid simply pointed to the hallway JJ had disappeared down. Emily stalked down the hallway and stopped outside the bathroom in order to collect herself before she pushed through the door. JJ was standing in front of the sink, her hands gripping the sides tightly. Emily was thrust into the memory of finding JJ in the same position soon after the incident with the dogs in Georgia.

Without hesitating, Emily turned and locked the door before approaching the blonde. "JJ? Are you okay?"

The liaison's shoulders slumped at the sound of Emily's voice. "Why did you do that, Emily?" she questioned, her voice trembling slightly.

Emily took a couple of steps towards her teammate until she was standing behind JJ. She felt the blonde tense at her close proximity, so Emily took a step back. "He was going to hit you," she reasoned.

JJ sighed and turned to look into concerned brown eyes. "You wouldn't have stepped in if it had been anyone else on the team." Her annoyance was evident.

Emily smirked. "Well maybe for Reid."

Blue eyes rolled at the sad attempt to lighten the mood. "Can you be serious?"

The brunette nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. I saw him draw his hand back, and… I don't know. I just lost it," Emily said.

JJ groaned. "You don't have to protect me, Emily!" she yelled.

Emily recoiled at the outburst, her hands flying up in a calming motion. "Whoa JJ, what is going on?"

"You jumping in to protect me like that makes it look like I can't hold my own. I can. I don't need you to defend me at every turn!" JJ growled as she stalked towards the brunette.

Reaching out to touch the blonde's arm, Emily kept her voice quiet to not spook her colleague. "Okay JJ. I'm sorry, it won't happen again," she soothed.

JJ relaxed slightly at the touch, and brought her hands up to rub over her face. She took a moment to calm down. "I'm sorry Em. That wasn't fair for me to yell. It's just that Will does it all the time. He doesn't trust me to do my job; he thinks it's too dangerous for me to be in the FBI. He says he's concerned about Henry not having a mother, but it's really because he can't be there to protect me."

Emily sighed and pulled the blonde into her, content to just hold the upset woman. "I trust you Jennifer. There's no one I'd rather have watching my back out there. Okay? I know you can do your job; you're a great agent. It's just… I didn't see you moving to stop him. There was no reason for him to react that way."

JJ placed her head on Emily's shoulder, relaxing fully into Emily's embrace. After a minute or two, JJ spoke again. "Is it a bad thing if I say I was kind of turned on by how you tackled him?" she mumbled into Emily's shirt.

Emily laughed and pulled JJ even closer. The blonde looked up into brown eyes, the embarrassment obvious on JJ's face. "What?" the liaison demanded.

Shaking her head, Emily's smile only grew. "You are adorable."

"And you're amazing."

Emily stilled at the whispered statement. The mood of the room shifted immediately to something more serious. JJ looked up into Emily's eyes; eyes that kept shifting from JJ's eyes to her lips and back again. A shy smile made its way to JJ's face as she leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Emily's lips. When she pulled away, JJ couldn't help but laugh at the grin on Emily's face.

JJ shook her head in amused exasperation. "Come on. Back to work."

Emily groaned in protest as JJ linked their hands and made her way back out to the main room of the department, only letting go of the brunette's hand once in line of sight to the team.

* * *

_Go ahead and push the little purplish button, let me know how you're doing..._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed and alerted the last chapter. You guys make writing that much more rewarding. Anyway, many many thanks to AliceBB for continuing to check over my work. In return for her awesome editing, I'm going to give a shameless plug for her current story. It's a Resident Evil Rain/Alice story called Waiting for the End. If zombies are your thing, I highly recommend it!

As always, these characters are, sadly, not mine. Though I would like to borrow them for a day or two.

* * *

Patience had never been a strong suit of Emily's. Sure, she had learned to be patient for the job, but that was as far as her patience went. If they were on a case, she could wait as long as she needed for a lead to develop, or to get to know an UNSUB. She could wait as long as necessary until the killer was caught and behind bars. On a case her ability to wait out the smallest clue was exceptional; it was anything but in her personal life.

Growing up, Emily always went after what she wanted. She had attacked everything in her life like a lioness hunting her prey. She fought to get into Yale, for her position in the FBI, and as a profiler in the BAU. Now she wanted JJ, wanted to have her, to be with her, yet she had ultimately backed off.

It was funny when she thought about it because she had always hated cliché adages like "Good things come to those who wait." In her mind, if you wanted something, you went after it; you didn't sit there waiting for it to fall into your lap. In Emily's mind, the people who believed that were hiding behind it. They were merely pretending that their fear of failure didn't actually exist. Emily had no respect for those people. She could never figure out what would make them want to ignore what they wanted. It had never made sense to her… until now.

Now she was one of those people, waiting for JJ to make a decision, waiting for JJ to choose her, all because she was too afraid to lose the blonde. She could try and pretend that it was because of some warped sense of honor, yet she knew it was really because she was terrified that if she pursued JJ, that the blonde would put her walls back up and end whatever this was before it actually began. This was a difficult time for JJ, she understood that, but Emily was tired of being strung along. Trying to be _this_ patient when you weren't patient to begin with was starting to wear her down. And all of this because she was too afraid to step up and really go after what she wanted.

Emily had told herself when all of this started that she would wait for however long JJ needed, except that she hadn't thought at the time that JJ would need this long. And yet, here she was, waiting and keeping as much distance from the blonde as she could, while still trying to be there for JJ.

The team had finished the day yesterday after they questioned Noah Marley, presented the profile, and then followed up with the few promising leads they received from the tip line. Then they had called it a night well after eleven o'clock. They had grabbed a quick bite to eat at the only 24-hour diner in the area before retiring to their rooms for a few hours of sleep. The two women decided to forego the time consuming charade of pretending to sleep alone, so instead of going back to her own room, JJ followed Emily to hers. And that's when reality came crashing back around their ears.

Emily woke up alone this morning; the bed on JJ's side empty and long cold. They ran into each other down in the lobby before the rest of the team had gotten there. The brunette had been naïve enough to think that something was wrong with JJ. Instead she was blindsided with the information that Will had called and JJ hadn't wanted to wake her. Reality crashed into Emily like a shot to the gut, making her physically recoil when JJ had told her.

It had been easy while on the case to forget that Will was still in the picture. Somewhere along the line, Emily had foolishly allowed herself to let her guard down and had started treating JJ like her girlfriend. When they were away from the everyday grind of life in DC, away from family and responsibilities outside of the job, everyday concerns melted away and had left them in a bubble. It was in this bubble, population two, that Emily had forgotten that JJ hadn't actually chosen her yet, it only seemed that way, or was starting to anyway.

That first call was several hours ago and Emily was now watching JJ out in the hallway, smiling into the phone at something that man-child was saying for the third time. Deep down, Emily wished Hotch would come over and tell the liaison to get back to work, just so JJ would have to hang up on Will, but they were currently waiting on some background information on the last two victims.

Having Will call was a slap to Emily's face because it made her realize that she hadn't been fighting as hard for JJ as she should have been. Currently, she was pissed at Will for still being in the picture. She was mad at JJ for stringing them both along. But most of all, Emily was furious with herself for more or less sitting on her hands and waiting for JJ. Being away from the competition Will provided had made Emily complacent; something she swore she would never be. What she should do is…

Reid dropped a stack of paperwork in front of her yanking her out of her reverie. Emily raised an eyebrow at her friend. "What is this?" she gestured to the pile with her pen.

He slid into a seat across from her and smiled. "Leads from the tip line."

Emily rolled her eyes, shot one last look at JJ before pulling the top paper towards her. She tried to focus on the information in front of her, except that every now and then her eyes would drift to the blonde.

"What are you looking at?"

Emily cleared her throat, tried to hide the blush she could feel creeping into her cheeks, and pointed at JJ with her pen. Reid turned to see what Emily was indicating. "Who is she talking to?" he asked.

"Will, I guess." Emily shrugged, trying to keep her disappointment out of her voice.

She couldn't help but smirk when Reid sighed in irritation. Emily felt bad for the kid because even though they had decided to just be friends, Reid would most likely always have feelings for the blonde.

Said blonde chose that moment to walk back into the room. She had the decency to look guilty when her eyes met Emily's as she pulled up a chair. Once settled she turned to look at the board they had set up. JJ studied the evidence there for a second before turning to her two teammates. "I still don't get it. If the UNSUB wants to send us a message, what is it?"

Reid surprisingly only shrugged his shoulders. So Emily handed JJ a copy of the numbers. "The answers are here in this code."

JJ took the paper confusion settling on her features at the coldness in Emily's voice. "Yeah, I know that, but what does this mean?" JJ shook the paper to emphasize her point.

"I have no idea. You might as well be speaking Hebrew!" Emily snapped.

JJ had no idea where the bitterness pouring off of Emily was coming from. So instead of confronting her, JJ threw her walls back up and bit back. "Oh, so Hebrew isn't one that you speak? Why the hell not?"

Whatever comeback Emily had died in her throat as Reid shot to his feet and yelled, "Hebrew!" in an excited voice. He grabbed the paper from JJ and both women watched, dumbfounded, as he quickly left the room.

The confused silence lasted a few more seconds before JJ turned to Emily. "What's going on?"

Emily glanced at the blonde before turning back to the list of tips. "I have no idea what he's talking about."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." JJ sighed. "Don't avoid my question."

"Nothing's going on," Emily replied.

JJ reached towards the brunette, the pleading obvious in her voice as she said, "Em…"

The ringing of JJ's phone interrupted them. The blonde sighed as she picked up the device to check the caller ID. She closed her eyes to collect herself and flipped it open. Before she could greet the person on the line, the device was ripped out of her hand, closed and tossed on a nearby chair.

"Emily!" JJ reprimanded.

"What! You don't need to talk to him _again_!" Emily growled.

JJ hesitated before realization set in. "Is that what this is about? That I talked to Will today? He's the father of my child, Emily!"

"I don't care! He's called you three times so far today, and its only 11:30!"

JJ stood as Emily shot to her feet to pace. The blonde threw her hands in the air. "That wasn't even Will. You just hung up on the Mayor."

Emily had the decency to look embarrassed for a second, but didn't try to apologize.

JJ shook her head and took a calming breath before she walked around the table so she was standing in front of Emily. "I promise you, Will won't be in the picture much longer."

"I've heard this all before Jennifer. To be honest, this conversation is getting a little old," Emily scoffed.

"He's been a major part of my life for a while Emily. He deserves to be told face to face. He deserves at least that much. Please, just a little longer, Em." JJ's voice dropped to a painful whisper.

"Broken record much? I've waited patiently for over a month JJ! I can't keep waiting if you're not going to decide!"

JJ physically recoiled from the brunette. "What are you saying?"

Emily rubbed her face and sighed. "I'm saying that maybe I can't keep doing this. Maybe we need to call this what it is and go our separate ways."

"You don't mean that. Please, Emily. Tell me you don't mean it."

"I do JJ."

"But that's not what you want," JJ reasoned.

Anger flashed in Emily's eyes. "Don't presume to know what I want! You're the one who's confused! You know what? Fuck it," Emily growled before she grabbed the blonde's arms and pulled her to a blind spot in the room. She pushed the younger woman against the wall and leaned in.

"You have no idea what you're missing."

Emily surged forward; her lips captured JJ's in a searing kiss. Up until this point, they had kept the few kisses they had shared rather mild. This kiss however, was a free -for all, something that was a last ditch effort to show JJ exactly what she was feeling. Emily's hands held onto either side of JJ's face as she pushed further into the blonde, fusing their bodies together. Love, lust and desire poured from one soul to the other, crackling across joined lips.

One of them moaned, neither sure who it had come from, neither really caring. Emily was about to pull back, feeling like she had proved her point, but she found herself held in place by a hand on her hip and the other on the back of her head.

JJ took control of the kiss, pushing herself into the brunette, trying to feel as much of this fabulous woman as she could. Need and urgency took over as JJ clung to Emily, trying to prove how much she actually needed the other woman. A whimper escaped and her hips bucked towards Emily, hoping beyond all hope that she could increase the friction between them, needing to increase the friction between them.

Emily responded by moving her right thigh between the blonde's legs until it hit JJ's center. JJ gasped and started to grind down on Emily's leg. Eventually the kiss ended. Short, ragged gasps were filling the room until JJ whispered one word.

"Emily," she panted.

The brunette leaned down. "This is what you could have every fucking day," she whispered into JJ's ear.

Then the brunette was gone, leaving JJ struggling to stay upright, shaking as she leaned heavily against the wall. She fought to get her breathing under control as she mentally cursed Emily for leaving her in this state.

After a couple of steadying breaths, JJ flopped down into a chair, her head falling into her hands. That's how the team found her a few minutes later when Morgan pushed open the door to the sound of her frustrated groan.

"You okay?" he asked.

JJ looked up at them. "Yeah, just tired."

Rossi sat down across from JJ. "What's going on with Prentiss? She didn't look too happy just now."

"I honestly have no idea," she shrugged. She really didn't know what was currently going on with Emily. All she knew was that she was more turned on by that little display then she had been in a long time.

Reid walked in the door next with Emily right behind him. He looked like a little kid that just got a pat on the head for a job well done. And Emily, well Emily looked like she hadn't just pinned JJ to the wall before deserting her. The brunette refused to make eye contact as she squeezed into a seat between Hotch and Morgan. JJ took a deep breath and tried to push her emotions to the back of her mind to focus on the case. A task easier said then done.

The rest of the team turned their attention to the resident genius. Reid had placed the numbers front and center on the board. "I have spent hours looking at these numbers and putting them through every program and cipher I could think of. It wasn't until Emily made a comment about them being Hebrew to her that I was able to put meaning to these groups of numbers," he explained.

"Get to the point Reid," Hotch interrupted.

Reid nodded as he continued. "These numbers correspond to verses in the bible. The first victim, Max Temple, had the number 20195 carved in his chest. It should actually read 20-19-5, as in the 20th book, 19th chapter, 5th verse. Instead of carving the words into the body, the UNSUB shortened it to simple numbers."

At the blank stares from his teammates, Reid attempted to explain in easier terms. "The killer used Proverbs 19:5 to explain Max Temple's murder: 'A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free.' The UNSUB targeted Max Temple because he was a tabloid journalist, and therefore a liar."

Morgan pointed at the board. "What about the rest of these numbers?"

"20161819 for Arthur Brenna represents Proverbs 16:18-19. 'Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.'"

"So his wealth and pride were what made him a target?" JJ asked.

"Precisely," Reid responded." The two victims we found yesterday were marked with 58134; Hebrews 13:4, and 46615; 1st Corinthians 6:15 respectively. Mr. Reese was targeted for his sexual immorality according to his verse: 'marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.'"

"Where things get interesting is that Nicole Marley was only targeted for her sexual immorality in a round about way. It seems the UNSUB blames Ms. Marley for being a prostitute. 1st Corinthians 6:15 reads, 'do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!'"

Emily interrupted. "But that makes it sound like he's blaming Jesse Reese's sin on Nicole Marley. Almost like Reese wouldn't have strayed if Marley wasn't a prostitute."

"Why would he do that?" JJ asked.

All eyes turned to Reid. "It could possibly have something to do with Adam and Eve, in such that he blames Eve for the fall of man. So he could have blamed Nicole Marley for Eve's mistake in eating the apple."

"Are we suggesting that this UNSUB not only punishes people for their sins, but also blames women for them?" Morgan inquired.

No one knew how to answer that so they allowed the question to hang in the air. The room remained that way, with the agents thinking about this new piece of information until Hotch's phone rang.

The conversation was short and to the point, lasting only a minute or two before he turned to the team. "There's another crime scene. Apparently he didn't like our press conference," Hotch explained.

The team quickly gathered their things and headed out to the location given by the sheriff.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

Standing at the newest crime scene was not something the team wanted to be doing at that moment. Two agents in particular were finding it difficult to stand there in a professional manner trying to take in the scene with an objective eye. The problem was that this scene was more brutal than any of the others. The previous three scenes were as business-like as a stoning could get, but at this scene, the UNSUB focused on the bodies, conducting post mortem mutilation to the point that it was difficult to view what was left as people.

The crime scene itself was busy with activity as everyone tried to perform his or her designated tasks. The crime scene team was actively collecting evidence and deputies were searching the surrounding area for anything that could be useful. JJ hadn't noticed that she had subconsciously stepped closer to Emily until the brunette moved away from her and towards the bodies.

The first body was an African American male in his early to mid thirties. He was completely naked and was tied to a metal post. The lacerations on this body were deeper and more numerous than on the other victims to date, and there were obvious deformities and mutilations to the body that hadn't been present with the others. The numbers 32013 were carved into his chest and he was missing a piece of flesh from the left side of his chest. The worst part of it was that his head had been beaten in so badly, that his face was unidentifiable.

Morgan had moved towards the second body, which was a woman who appeared younger than the male. She was tied to the same post and had the same degree of viciousness in the injuries. The medical examiner was inspecting the body and when she looked up at Morgan, he knew that the UNSUB had taken this crime one step further: the confirmation was in the ME's subtle nod and anger in his eyes. The victim was missing skin on her right hip and had the numbers 45126 carved into her chest.

The sheriff approached the team, the numeric rock already in an evidence bag. He sighed. "The victims are James Hunter and Kara Williams. Jamie was thirty-four and worked as a chef in one of the restaurants in town. Kara was twenty-three and worked as a horse trainer for our mounted division. Both of them had been previously harassed by some of the locals and had filed several complaints against certain members of the town."

"Why?" Rossi questioned.

The sheriff took a moment to figure out a way to tell the team, but Reid saved him having to do so. "They were gay," he supplied.

"What? How did you know that?" the sheriff asked in disbelief.

Reid pointed at the bodies. "The numbers. James Hunter has Leviticus 20:13 carved into his chest: 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable they must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.'"

He paused to think about the next verse. "Miss Williams was marked with Romans 1:26 which reads: 'Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.'"

"You just know that?" the sheriff inquired.

Reid didn't take his eyes off of the bodies as he answered. "Photographic memory."

"Why does every victim have a different piece of skin missing?" Morgan asked from where he was kneeling next to the male victim.

"I think it is safe to say for sure that the missing skin was once a tattoo," Rossi interjected.

The sheriff looked confused. "Okay, so why take them?"

"It could have something to do with the religious push behind this case. There are quite a few verses that deal with not tattooing or marking the body," Reid supplied without looking up from studying the area around the victims.

Hotch nodded. "Prentiss, JJ, head back to the tattoo parlor and ask about the victims. See if any of the artists recognize them."

Emily turned to her boss. "Hotch, I think I'd be more help here on the scene."

Hotch shook his head as he turned back to the scene. "No. You and JJ have a rapport with the shop."

The brunette sighed while she stood. She didn't wait for JJ as she turned and headed back to the SUV.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

The drive to the tattoo parlor started in an awkward and tense silence that permeated the interior of the vehicle. JJ had tried to start a conversation several times, but it seemed that Emily wasn't in a talking mood.

"Come on Emily. We need to talk about this," JJ tried again.

Emily sighed. "There's not much to talk about."

"Bullshit. You told me this morning that you didn't want to give us a chance anymore. I think that deserves a conversation."

"Not now," Emily said.

JJ turned so she was facing the brunette. "I think now's a great time. Yesterday you were fine with everything. What changed?"

Emily shot a look at JJ quickly before focusing on the road again. "I was never okay with this arrangement! If I had my way, Will would be long gone and we would have gotten together that night! I have tried to be patient; it just seems like he isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

"I'm sorry this has taken so long, but Emily you have to understand…"

"I do! I get it Jennifer, this is all very confusing for you, you need time to tell your family, and on, and on. It's all starting to sound like a list of excuses to me," Emily practically growled, her grip tightening on the steering wheel so her knuckles were white.

"Emily," JJ tried to plead. "They aren't excuses. I want to be with you, I do."

"Could have fooled me. If you didn't want this, all you had to do was say so. I just have to say that you're going to regret staying with him. We could have been amazing together," Emily's voice trailed off.

"Why are you giving up on us?" The waiver in JJ's voice wasn't lost on Emily.

"There is no us. We never got to that point, and it looks like we never will. We're here." The finality in Emily's voice cut through the liaison.

JJ's hand shot out to stop Emily from getting out of the SUV. "Emily, _please_. Don't do this."

The pain and fear in blue eyes clearly showed what she was feeling: _please don't leave me. I need you._

Emily shook her head and exited the black vehicle before she headed into the tattoo shop. The same young woman was sitting behind the desk, and she was surprised to see Emily walk through the door again.

"You're back. What can I do for you this time?" she asked, appearing to be genuinely interested in helping out the FBI.

Emily placed the pictures of the four most recent victims on the counter. "Do any of these people look familiar?"

The woman studied them for a second before nodding. "Yes, they do."

JJ appeared next to Emily, her features schooled into a mask of the utmost professionalism. "Which ones?"

"All of them."

Emily's eyebrow shot up. "All of them?"

The receptionist nodded eagerly. "Absolutely. Arthur Brenna we discussed. These others were all in here over the past few months to get tattoos. This one, umm Max something; he got Kanji on his wrist two months ago. This guy got the firefighter's shield on his right arm about three months ago. This woman, Marley, she had a large phoenix on her left side that she got done in several sittings over the last four months."

She paused to squint at the last two pictures. "These two were in here just a few weeks ago. The guy got interlinked male symbols on his chest and the woman, Kara Williams, she got a cross with wings on her hip."

JJ stared at the woman for a second, the surprise that she would remember all of that was written on her face. She blinked twice. "Do you know who did the work?" she questioned.

"Trent Rodgers."

"He did all of them?" Emily asked incredulous.

"Absolutely. He's the best we have," the woman supplied.

JJ took a quick look around the front of the store. "Do you know where he is?"

The woman shrugged. "He's out getting lunch."

The bell over the door chose that exact moment to ring. All three women turned to see who had just walked through. It took a second to register with the two agents that the man walking through the door was in fact Trent Rodgers. He looked up and made eye contact with Emily before he turned and bolted back through the door, back out into the street.

Emily and JJ didn't hesitate as they gave chase, more sure than ever that he was involved in this somehow. Emily was the first one out the door; she looked both ways before she saw the back of Rodgers make a left turn further down the street.

"Stop!" Emily growled as she took off after the tattoo artist, trying not to lose sight of him. She managed to keep up with him only slowing slightly when pedestrians didn't get out of her way quickly enough.

Rodgers made another left down an alley between two buildings. Emily put on a burst of speed to make up some of the distance between them. She skidded to a stop at the mouth of the alley; her hand immediately pulled out her gun and held it at the ready before she eased carefully into the small space between the two buildings.

Emily expected to see a lot of things once she entered the alley: Rodgers exiting the other end, or pulling a weapon out to attack her, hell she even half expected to find the alley empty. What she didn't expect to see was JJ pinning the artist against the brick wall of one of the buildings. Rodgers fought against JJ's hold, but the blonde had a firm grip of the back of his neck and was pushing his face into the wall.

Emily holstered her gun before she approached the suspect with her handcuffs already out. She stepped up next to JJ and secured Rodgers' hands behind his back. "Where the hell did you come from?" she asked the blonde.

JJ pointed to the end of the alley once Emily had Rodgers secured. "There's a connecting alley down there."

Emily smirked at the blonde before she pulled the suspect towards the parked SUV.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

The interview room in the sheriff's department was definitely not one the team was used to. It didn't have any of the two-way communication equipment, or even a two-way mirror for that matter. It was simply a soundproof room that had one door and an old CCTV camera in the corner that looked like it had stopped working in the 70s.

Emily pushed the door to the room open and held it for JJ who walked in ahead of her. They had called Hotch once they got Rodgers in the back of their SUV and he had told them to go ahead and start interviewing him.

Trent Rodgers sat on one side of a sturdy metal table, his face twisted into a sneer that was drastically different from his calm easygoing attitude from two days ago. Emily placed a file on the desk in front of him before she sat down on the other side of the table. JJ pulled out the chair next to Emily and settled in waiting for Rodgers to speak first.

This was a technique that on occasion helped get an initial read on a suspect. Yet after close to ten minutes of silence, Emily finally spoke up. "Why did you run?  
Rodgers shrugged.

Emily fixed him with a stare. "Okay," she flipped open the file in front of them and pulled out pictures of the victims. "Do you know these people?"

Words weren't needed as Rodgers' face took on a look of disgust that progressed as the victims were laid out. His eyes focused on the two most recent victims and flared in anger before turning cold with hatred. Emily caught onto this and pushed the pictures of James Hunter and Kara Williams towards Rodgers.

"You don't like them very much, do you?" Emily taunted.

JJ leaned forward. "You don't like any of them very much, do you?"

Rodgers kept his mouth shut as the two women pressed on. "Maybe that's true, except I think he hates these two the most." Emily pulled the rest of the pictures towards her, leaving just two faces staring at them all.

"I think I know why that is," Emily smirked. "You think you're so secretive, so mysterious, that I haven't figured you out already. The problem is that when you killed these two people, it wasn't enough that you stoned them. No, you had to beat their bodies so they were no longer recognizable, isn't that right? These two were the ones you wanted the entire time because their sin was the worst wasn't it?"

JJ held up the picture of Kara Williams, so the suspect had to look at her. "You raped her. Is that because you wanted to, or is it because she wouldn't sleep with men?"

Emily's hand slid over JJ's in order to lower the picture. "Look Trent, we know that you killed all these people because of their sins. We know why you raped Kara Williams, and we know that you used drugs to subdue your victims so kidnapping them would be easier. What I don't understand though, is why use such a violent way of killing?"

Emily tossed one of the rocks onto the table; the resulting bang was so loud that both JJ and Rodgers jumped. "Why use that? Did it make you feel better when you threw rocks at them? Did you finally feel like a man?"

His eyes flew up to look at Emily who just settled back in her chair and smirked some more at the rage she saw housed there. "Now we're getting somewhere."

Both women stopped the line of questioning for a moment to see how Rodgers would react. He eventually looked down at the rock, his cuffed hands reached out almost reverently towards the weapon.

"'If we deliberately keep on sinning,'" he started, "'after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.'"

Emily shot a quick look of confusion towards the blonde who answered with, "something from the old testament. Hebrews, I think," in return. They both refocused on the man in front of them who wasn't looking at anything at all. His eyes had glazed over and had become unseeing.

He continued in a monotone. "'Anyone who rejected the Law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified Him, and who has insulted the spirit of grace?'"

He sat back in the chair, his face and tone of voice remained the same, but now he looked at Emily. "'For we know Him who said, 'it is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'the Lord will judge his people.' It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.'"

Emily laughed. "That's what all of this is about? You think you're God's avenger? That you're helping Him clean up the world? Guess again, Trent. All you did was break one of the Commandments, several times over. That actually makes you worse than those people you killed."

"No!" he exclaimed as he slammed his hands against the table. "I save sinners! I make this world a better place!"

JJ tossed the pictures back towards him as Emily continued. "Actually, these were all good people, and you killed them. When you look at people, you don't see human souls; you just see their shortcomings. And then you judge them based on it. If you want to argue scripture, we can. What about Matthew 7:5?"

Rodgers snarled. "What about it?"

Emily shrugged. "I'm pretty sure the plank is still in your eye, yet you're focusing on the speck in everyone else's. Though in your case, I'd argue you have the whole tree in there."

"Emily, sweetheart. Relax."

JJ's hand on her forearm stopped Emily from leaning any further over the table. She didn't know that she had moved closer to him, her voice taking on enough malice to match his.

The brunette shot a withering glare at the liaison, which soon softened when she saw the look being sent her way. JJ's hand slid slowly the rest of the way down Emily's arm before it stopped in hers. She smiled softly as she intertwined their fingers.

Emily turned to look at Rodgers again, only to find him focused on their hands. "Oh, does this bother you?"

She raised their joined hands for emphasis. "Does it bother you that I'm sitting here, holding the hand of the Christian woman I love? That I converted her to lesbianism?"

The slightest facial twitch just below Rodgers' left eye caught Emily's attention and she worked to exploit it. "You would love to think that I corrupted her, that I forced her to love me back. That I'm to blame for all the good Christian girls switching teams, the problem is that I'm not. Neither is the devil. The truth is that I was born this way, and God loves me for who I am and in spite of whom I love. He doesn't care who I love, just that I do."

It happened extremely fast. The final switch had been flipped and all semblance of humanity inside Trent Rodgers was gone as he shot to his feet. He shoved the table forward with an incredible amount of strength.

Emily saw the attack coming and shoved JJ away from her, knocking her out of her chair and away from the table. JJ hit the ground in time to see the table slam into Emily's chest and effectively pin her against the wall. The enraged man turned, grabbed his chair, and jammed it under the door handle to keep everyone else out.

Then he charged, flipped the table away from Emily and lunged for her, the rock somehow clasped tightly in his hands.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I know, this is ridiculously late. I'm sorry. Real life got in the way, as it usually does, and I suddenly realized that I didn't have this chapter done. So here it is. As always, many thanks go out to my reviewers. And a special thanks to AliceBB who has put up with shoddy sentence structure since day one: how she has managed it is beyond me, but I am forever grateful to her. **

* * *

They say that during a traumatic event time slows and senses are heightened. JJ wasn't so sure about time slowing down, but the heightened senses theory was true. She knew she'd look back on this moment, try to describe it and fail miserably. Unless someone had heard or seen what happened next, there were no words to describe it.

JJ had been shoved to the side, her chair toppled with her from the force of Emily's push. Trent Rodgers had Emily pinned behind the metal table which he simply _tossed_ aside before he lunged at the brunette with the rock firmly in his hand.

A muffled thud was felt more than heard in the room, but it mixed with a sharp staccato crack that exploded around them all the same. Emily had managed to get her left arm up just in time to stop the assault on her head. The rock smashed into her shoulder, the momentum sending the agent sprawling to the right, her left arm hanging at an odd angle.

JJ watched as this happened in front of her, shock and fear held her momentarily in her spot. When Rodgers advanced on Emily as she struggled to get up, something in JJ snapped. She forgot her training and instead of pulling her weapon on the man, she threw herself at him; her need to protect Emily flared so quickly and so intensely that she hadn't stopped to think. Her smaller frame collided with him, knocking him slightly off balance, but not enough to do any real damage.

Rodgers didn't take his attention from Emily even as he grabbed JJ's arm tossed her easily aside and into the wall.

JJ slid to the floor after impact; the force of it knocked the wind from her lungs. The attack had lasted long enough to work as a distraction for Emily to get back to her feet. She stood and swayed slightly in front of Rodgers. He growled as he approached her.

Emily's fist flew out quickly, and caught him on the jaw. His head whipped to the right before it swiveled back around.

"You fucking dyke!" he roared as he threw a punch of his own, his fist colliding with the left side of Emily's face. The brunette agent stumbled back from the force of the strike. Rodgers then body checked her into the wall and as Emily slid to the floor, the irate man took a step back, Emily's Glock gripped tightly in his right hand.

"Get up, bitch!"

"Drop it."

The calmness that permeated JJ's voice was punctuated by the coolness of the barrel of her weapon as it pressed into the back of Rodgers' head.

He didn't seem to care that the barrel of a gun was now pointed at him. He gestured wildly at Emily with his weapon. "I said get up! I'm not finished with you!"

"I'm not going to tell you again Mr. Rodgers, drop the gun."

The slight pause on his part was enough for JJ. "Look around you Trent, you're pointing a gun at an FBI agent in a police station. That doesn't exactly scream escape me. So put the gun down and we can all walk away from this," she reasoned.

"I can't stop! Sinners need to be punished. It's what He required!" Rodgers hollered.

"I get it, you think you're doing the right thing, but—"

"You don't know the first thing about it!" Rodgers turned around, the gun now pointed at JJ. She immediately stood up a little straighter and readjusted her grip on the pistol in her hands.

"You think you're any better than her!" The venom and rage in Rodgers' voice made JJ step back.

"I see the cross around your neck! If anything, that makes you worse than her! You should know better! You should know better…" his voice broke in a pained whisper.

JJ's left hand wandered to her neck and lightly touched the necklace her sister had given her.

Emily took the shift in Rodgers' attention to get to her feet once more. With a wince, she reached down for her back up piece strapped in an ankle holster. The pain that shot through her body with the move clouded her vision and knocked her equilibrium off center. She tried to compensate, but she stumbled forward instead.

The movement caught Rodgers' attention. He turned to look which gave JJ the opportunity she had been looking for. They both lunged forward; the tattooist was slightly faster. He grabbed Emily's shirt and yanked her closer. His arm slid around her throat as he pushed the barrel of Emily's own gun into her temple. She couldn't stop the hiss of pain that slipped out.

JJ froze. The situation had just gone from bad to worse. She couldn't stop the ice-cold dread that slammed into her stomach at seeing Emily in this situation. The fear worked its way into the blonde's heart, taking hold with a fierce death grip. She realized with alarming clarity that she was watching her worst fear playing out right in front of her.

She had always thought that her biggest fear was getting lost in the woods, but the fear of this moment was so much more intense than any feeling she got around some stupid trees. She was more afraid of failing Emily when the brunette needed her most. She was terrified of not being able to protect her from harm, of not being able to spend her life with the other woman.

Life without Emily was her biggest fear. That much was crystal clear to the liaison now.

And if she didn't play this right, it would become a reality. "Whoa. Let's talk about this Trent," JJ soothed.

"There's nothing to talk about! She needs to die!"

The anger was back and with it was an air of desperation. "You're a sister of Christ! How can you be around her day in and day out, watching as she continues to live in sin?" he growled.

"I don't think love is a sin Trent," JJ tried.

"She is _disgusting!_ The Bible clearly says she's a sinner. And sinners need to be punished."

"I understand, I do. But the Bible also says that we're all sinners. To let those without sin cast the first stone…" JJ let that verse hang in the air between them: things made so much sense now.

"Is that why you used rocks? You think you're without sin?" Emily asked, mocking and disgust dripped with every word.

Rodgers tightened his grip on Emily's throat, silencing her. Except the look on his face said that was exactly what he thought.

JJ shot Emily a look that pleaded with her to keep quiet. "Trent, it's impossible for us to be free of sin. You and I both know that," JJ said.

"All things are possible in the Lord. If we simply believe and live life in Him, then we are free from sin."

"That's not what the Bible says and you know it," JJ countered.

"You don't know anything!" Rodgers roared as he pressed the gun harder into Emily's head. "I'm doing as He commanded. I am living in service of the one true God!"

"Do you think you're serving Him now? You killed six people Trent. You're threatening to kill Agent Prentiss. You are not living in love; you are living in so much hatred. Is that serving Him?" JJ questioned.

"She's a sinner, a homosexual. She's breaking one of the biggest laws. She must be punished!"

JJ sighed internally; she wasn't making any progress. "Jesus' sacrifice was about forgiveness. If you kill her now, she won't have the chance to ask Jesus into her life. She won't have the chance to be saved."

"She doesn't deserve it," he growled.

"Why not?" JJ asked.

"She's a dyke! She doesn't get a chance at salvation!"

"She can't help it Trent. Someone very close to me once said that you can't help who you love. So she loves a woman, that's not important. What is though is that she loves at all," JJ stated in a calming tone.

Trent shook his head violently back and forth. "No! The Bible is law! As it says, so shall it be done!" His grip tightened on the Glock, his finger slid in the trigger guard.

JJ took a calming breath. "The Bible has laws in it. But it is not THE law."

"No!"

"Trent, listen to me. Emily and I can't help who we are or who we love. We were born this way. God made us this way in His own image."

"Stop talking!"

JJ continued to talk over him. "He does not make mistakes. I love her and she loves me and God loves us because of it. That's all that matters."

It hit her in that moment. The realization hit her with such alarming lucidity that her entire body went numb from the shock of it. She finally understood what Emily had been trying to tell her all along: "That's all that matters."

A loud bang from the door made all the occupants of the room jump. Rodgers turned to face the door before he turned back to JJ.

"That's the rest of our team. There's no way out," JJ explained.

Rodgers looked like a cornered animal, his focus shifted to the door as the rest of the team tried to get in. It shifted quickly again to JJ. His eyes never stopped moving: door, Emily, JJ, door, JJ.

"Just put the gun down and we can all walk out of here."

_BANG!_

"Put the gun down, Trent."

"Shut up!"

_BANG! BANG!_

"There's no way out."

"Stop talking!"

_BANG!_

"Just let her go."

"I said shut up!" Rodgers spun and yanked Emily with him as he turned the gun on the liaison. His finger tightened on the trigger.

Emily used that split second to reach out for the gun. Her hand connected with his forearm as two gunshots rang out in the small room.

Emily was pulled off of her feet as Rodgers stumbled backwards and then fell. She couldn't stop the movement with his arm still around her neck. They ended up on the floor with Emily pinned partially underneath his body. Fear gripped her heart, stopped it momentarily as silence settled in the room. She didn't know what had happened.

_Was JJ hit?_

Emily struggled to disentangle herself from Rodgers' still form, desperate to get to JJ.

"Emily!"

JJ's voice cracked with panic as she rushed forward. She had to take the shot even if it was risky with Emily standing so close to the suspect. When both of them had fallen over, JJ was terrified that she had missed the shot and hit Emily instead. She couldn't stop to think about the small whoosh of air she had felt pass her head with Rodgers' shot.

She knelt next to the two bodies sprawled on the floor; secured Emily's gun lying nearby, and then shoved Rodgers off of her teammate. JJ quickly checked for signs of life from Rodgers. There was an entry wound on the right side of his forehead and his eyes were open and unseeing. With shaky hands, JJ confirmed that there was no pulse.

"Jennifer?"

The quiet question yanked JJ's attention from the dead suspect to her teammate.

"Emily!"

Relief surged through JJ so quickly she thought she was going to pass out. "Are you hit?" she asked as her hands worked furiously to find the source of the blood covering the brunette.

"I'm okay," Emily reassured.

JJ wasn't convinced and continued to search. The desperate need for Emily to be safe drove her frantic assessment.

"Jennifer. Jen, hey," Emily tried to calm the panicking woman in front of her. She reached out with her right hand and gripped JJ's face. "I'm okay," she soothed.

The contact broke through JJ's hysteria long enough for her to be sure that Emily was in fact in one piece. She grabbed at the front of Emily's shirt and desperately pulled her into a hug. "Oh God. I thought I missed. I though I hit you. I am so sorry," JJ rambled into the crook of Emily's neck.

Emily ignored the pain that flared through her left shoulder when it was jarred by the hug. The need to hold JJ, to make sure this was real and that the bullet from Rodgers' gun hadn't hit her, took precedence over everything else.

JJ finally pulled away to look at Emily, and stopped short at the emotion she saw reflected back. "Emily..."

Emily nodded when JJ hesitated. The emotion that swam through blue eyes showed so many different things, yet the clarity and understanding were so sharp, they overpowered all the rest. JJ's eyes were no longer confused, no longer weary like they had been for the last few weeks.

JJ's hand reached up and cupped Emily's face, her thumb rubbed gently against her cheek. "Emily, I—"

Their moment was interrupted when a rather large _bang_ made the room shake slightly.

"JJ! Emily! Talk to me!" Morgan's muffled voice barely reached their ears.

They had been so caught up in the moment; they had forgotten that their team was on the other side of the door.

Emily nodded, determination in her eyes. "We'll talk later."

JJ sighed before she stood and moved the chair that had been wedged under the door handle. She immediately moved away from the door because Derek Morgan was not a patient man.

He proved her right as he burst through the door, his gun drawn as his eyes made a sweep to find the target.

"He's dead," Emily grunted as JJ helped her to her feet. She didn't protest as JJ slid under her right arm to take on some of Emily's weight. She did groan in pain, however, when she tried to cradle her left arm to her side.

JJ gasped when she saw the awkward angle the arm was hanging at. "It's not as bad as it looks." Emily sighed.

Morgan cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Because it looks pretty bad, you should have it checked out. EMS is on the way."

Emily wanted to argue, except that the pain had worsened since the immediate threat had been eliminated. Adrenaline was a good defense against injury and fear for only so long.

JJ nodded as she started to move Emily out of the room. There was only so much death she could handle, and she had reached the limit on this case. Plus, Emily could use a chair before she fainted. Once the older agent was settled as best as she could be in a hard plastic chair, JJ turned towards Hotch and handed over both her sidearm and Emily's.

He nodded and placed them in plastic bags after the chambers and magazines on both weapons had been cleared. "It shouldn't take too long to clear you."

Reid walked up to the group, a couple of CDs in his hand. "We have the recording from inside the room, although apparently the audio in that room is experiencing some technical difficulties. Video is all that we have for IA. Will that be enough?"

Hotch nodded as he also took the CDs for the IA investigation. "Should be."

Emily groaned again and leaned forward so her forehead was resting on JJ's hip in front of her. The blonde turned slightly so Emily's head could rest on her stomach instead. Her hands wandered and gently tugged Emily's hair out of the ponytail holder it was imprisoned in. Once free of its constraints, JJ's hand slid through brown hair in what she hoped was a soothing manner.

The rest of the team went about their work to catalog the scene and events that lead up to the shooting. This left the two agents in their own world once again. Emily sighed and leaned further into JJ's body; she needed to feel grounded, secure and at that moment, JJ was her rock as she had always been.

JJ returned the gesture as she stepped closer to Emily. She wanted nothing more than to grab the other woman and pull her into a passionate kiss. However, the middle of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department didn't seem like the ideal place for that particular display of emotion. Instead, JJ settled for as much contact between them as she could manage.

A couple more minutes passed before sirens could be heard outside and two paramedics came through the front door; one of them was carrying their gear bag while the other carried in the EKG monitor. They maneuvered the stretcher between them and stopped in front of JJ and Emily. The male paramedic went to make sure Rodgers was dead while the female medic stopped in front of JJ and Emily. She slid gloves on before she introduced herself.

"My name is Kris, my partner is Joey. Can you tell me what happened?"

Emily shook her head and pushed her face further into JJ; there was nothing she wanted more than to go to sleep.

JJ explained the series of events, how Emily was positioned when attacked, and how the rock had hit her. The male paramedic moved back to Emily's left arm. "Agent Prentiss, I need to see the injury. Can I cut the sleeve of your shirt?" he asked.

Emily's muffled, "Go ahead," was all he needed before he had his trauma shears out. JJ watched him closely as she continued to answer the female paramedic's questions, so she didn't miss the frown on his face as he inspected the injury.

After that moment, the room became a flurry of activity. Splints and a sling were put on with as little movement to Emily's arm as they could manage. The coroner arrived to take away the body. And deputies started to clean up the scene. Both paramedics then turned to look at JJ.

"Can she stand?" the young man asked.

JJ nodded and leaned down to slip under Emily's right arm as the medics lowered the gurney to make it easier for Emily to sit on. They got her moved without much trouble and she was soon being secured to the bed with straps. When they lifted the stretcher and began to move her to the ambulance, Emily's hand reached out and grabbed JJ's.

JJ saw the pleading in Emily's eyes and smiled before she intertwined their fingers. She kept pace next to the paramedics as they wheeled Emily to the rig. Hotch nodded as they passed: "We'll meet you there."

She nodded once and hopped into the back of the rig. The ambulance stayed there just long enough for the medic to establish an IV line in Emily and then they were speeding away from the Sheriff's Department with lights and sirens blaring.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

Thirty minutes later JJ was seated in a room in the Jefferson Memorial Hospital Emergency Room. The door opened and a nurse wheeled Emily back into the room, the look on Emily's face spoke of just how happy she was to be stuck in a hospital. The nurse smiled at JJ. "As soon as the doctor takes a look at the x-rays, he'll be in to discuss what the next step is."

JJ returned the smile as she helped Emily get settled on her bed.

"Thank you."

The nurse left the room and neither agent felt the desire to finish the conversation that had almost happened in the interview room. JJ returned to her seat on Emily's right side and didn't hesitate as she slid her hand into the other agent's. There were better places that JJ could think of to have this conversation, but after what happened in the interview room, JJ had to get it off of her chest.

"Emily," she started with a squeeze of Emily's hand. "I… I have to tell you something. And I don't want you to interrupt me, okay? If you don't let me finish what I need to say, I'll never get it out."

Emily turned her full attention to the liaison. JJ cleared her throat and continued. "I'm not afraid of a lot of things. I can handle stressful and traumatic events calm and collected. In this line of work, that's a necessity. I even managed to keep it together when my sister died."

JJ smiled sadly when Emily squeezed her hand in support. "But in that room… Em, I can't even describe how terrified I was. When he had that gun pressed against your head, I couldn't feel anything really. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, I couldn't make myself move to do what I needed to do. I failed you, and I was terrified that my hesitation had cost you your life."

"Jennifer…"

"Please, let me finish. Emily, I looked at you and do you know what I saw? You were looking at me with the utmost trust on your face. Seeing that look there… I was so afraid that I had let you down. I am so sorry that I hadn't acted sooner than that. I'm so sorry; so very sorry. You needed me and I let you down."

"Jayje, stop. None of that was your fault, okay? You took the shot when you could. You did what you had to in order to get me out of there. I'm still here because of you."

Doubt clouded JJ's eyes. "Maybe. But Emily, I got a look at a future, and I have to say that—"

The door swinging open cut short whatever JJ was about to say. The liaison groaned inwardly and rolled her eyes; of course someone would interrupt her baring her soul to Emily. The doctor smiled as he entered, the x-rays in his hand.

"Well Agent Prentiss," he slid the films onto the light box on the wall. "The impact from the rock caused a clean break in your humerus near the head of the joint. The force of the impact managed to dislocate the shoulder as well."

He turned to face them, a smile plastered on his face. "We'll set the bone and reset the dislocation. It'll require you to be in a cast for six months and an immobilizing sling for at least two. You can follow up with your physician when it's time to remove the cast."

He paused to make sure he hadn't lost either of the women in his explanation. "Because of the immobilization, it could be difficult for you to adjust to everyday life with one arm."

"That won't be a problem," JJ stated.

Emily shot a quick smile her way before reaching out with her right hand to shake the doctor's. "Thanks."  
He nodded. "If you don't have any questions, I'll go get the anesthesiologist so we can reset everything. Do you have a preference in color for the cast?"

Emily winced. "Black. That way no one will want to sign it or decorate it."

JJ laughed. "You know Penelope will still find a way, right?"

This time she groaned. "Probably."  
The doctor nodded, a smile on his face, as he left to get the other doctors assisting him on Emily's arm.

JJ turned back to Emily and was about to continue where they had left off, yet the team's entrance into Emily's room put an end to whatever the blonde was about to say.

The tight squeeze from Emily's hand was a promise of finishing the conversation later. The two women shared a look before they allowed themselves to get swept away in the upbeat chatter amongst the rest of the team. They talked about everything and nothing in an attempt to keep the mood easy going. The banter continued until the nurse came back a little later and wheeled Emily off.

JJ stayed in Emily's empty room even after the others went to get something to eat. Morgan had tried to get her to go along with them, but JJ had wanted to stay in the room so she was there when Emily got back. Plus the room gave her a quiet and private place to go over everything that had happened in the past few hours. The events that transpired in that interview room was a blessing wrapped in a nightmare; true Emily had been injured and almost killed which was terrible. Everything that had happened in there had been horrible, except it had given JJ the push she had needed to see what she could have and what she needed in life.

It was going to take her a while to come to grips with everything that had happened. And yet, she felt such relief with the realization that she could be with Emily; that it really was that simple. She and Emily could be together, nothing had to stand in their way.

That was where JJ was in her musings when Emily was wheeled back in an hour and a half later. The doctor gave her a quick report; everything had gone well, the break should heal cleanly, Emily would be out of it for the next few hours, and once she woke up, she could head home. JJ smiled and thanked the doctor before she settled in to wait for Emily to wake up.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

JJ yawned and shifted in her seat, if she had known that Emily would be asleep for this long, she would have gone to get a cup of coffee or two. Of course she could still go get a cup except that she was afraid that if she left, Emily would wake up alone.

A slight tug on her hand snapped JJ out of her thoughts, her attention jumping to Emily who groaned and shifted on the bed. JJ sat up straighter. "Emily?"

Emily groaned again in response, though her head turned slightly towards JJ.

"Open your eyes, Sweetheart."

This time Emily responded as her eyes blinked a couple of times. She took a slow deep breath and turned to look at JJ. "Wasss goin on?" she slurred.

JJ smiled at how adorable Emily was on drugs. "You're in the hospital. They fixed your arm."

"Mm-hmm." Emily's eyes slid closed again as a goofy smile settled on her face.

JJ squeezed Emily's hand. "Look Em, about what I was saying earlier… I just wanted you to know that I came to a decision."

"Mmmm." This hummed response sounded more tired than the previous one.

"I need you stay awake a little longer Em, please. I need to tell you this."

"You're voice ish pretty. Like it."

JJ sighed. "Emily, I…"

"Mmmm love you," Emily mumbled before she drifted off to sleep again.

JJ smiled at her sleeping teammate. "I love you too Emily."

She stood and placed a gentle kiss on the brunette's forehead. "Sweet dreams."

Emily hummed in response as JJ settled back in her chair to wait some more.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I know this is seriously late. I toyed with the idea of writing a few more chapters for this story in order to deal with them coming out to the team. But after more rewrites than I care to count, I decided that our lovely ladies needed a break. Therefore this will be the last chapter in this story. I do have some ideas for another story that will deal with the team and Strauss.**

**So many thanks to you for reading. I can't thank those of you who also took the time to review. Even the shortest ones mean the world to me. You, dear readers, are truly amazing and I sincerely thank you for your support. I hope I did them justice. **

**This story wouldn't have been anywhere near what it is without the constant support and guidance from AliceBB. Thank you for keeping me on track, true to these characters and most importantly true to my voice.**

* * *

JJ groaned as she dropped both hers and Emily's bags just inside the door to Emily's apartment. It had been a long couple of days that just seemed to drag on once the case had been closed. It hadn't been the cleanest wrap they'd ever done, but the UNSUB had been stopped. Wins didn't come around too often in this job, so JJ was going to take them where she could get them.

It was true that the case had been difficult and exhausting, yet JJ felt the thirty-six hours following had been just as difficult. They had waited anxiously for the doctors to complete the surgery necessary to repair Emily's arm. Then they had waited until Emily was discharged before they could even think of going home. The others had managed to get a few hours of sleep once the doctor had assured them Emily would be fine. JJ on the other hand refused to leave her friend's bedside.

She spent those hours rethinking everything that had led them to this. It made her sick to think about all the time the two of them had wasted. All the time they spent dancing around their feelings, all the time she was still wasting with Will had glared at her in the dark hospital room. JJ would always be grateful to Will for giving her Henry, and a part of her would always love the southern detective, but not in the way she loved her best friend. And now that she had decided, JJ wanted nothing more than to speed things up.

Pain medication and a flight in close quarters with the rest of the team had put a stop to JJ's plan though. So she waited some more and offered to drive the profiler home once they landed. Now they were alone in Emily's apartment and it had been a while since Emily's last dose of pain medication.

Emily sighed as she tossed her keys and credentials into a bowl on the island. She knew that she and JJ needed to talk, but she was simply too tired to do anything other than climb into bed and sleep for the next week and a half.

"Emily."

It seemed JJ had other plans though. A gentle hand was placed on Emily's right arm. She stopped and turned to look at JJ, the question written obviously on her face.

"I think we need to talk," JJ started.

Emily shook her head. "Not now Jayje. I just want to sleep."

JJ sighed but nodded in agreement anyway. "Okay, sleep first, talk later. Let's get you into bed."

"I can manage," Emily interrupted the other woman's move toward the stairs.

"Emily," the warning in the liaison's tone didn't go unnoticed by the brunette.

"I'll be fine. I'm just going to take some more painkillers and then it's off to bed for me. Besides, don't you have a kid and a fiancé to go home to?"

The truth was that Emily wanted nothing more than to have JJ stay, to have JJ hold her while she slept. She needed JJ to keep the nightmares at bay. That would have been the best scenario, yet they had been together nonstop for almost a week and a lot had gone down in that time. A major shift in their relationship had happened at some point in that interrogation room, and Emily was positive they both needed some time to decompress, and find "north" on their emotional compasses again.

JJ stopped short, her hand dropped from Emily's arm. "Don't shut me out, Em."

"I'm not," there was a pause as she caught the look JJ gave her. "I swear. I just need some time to cope and you need to see your son."

Relief instantly removed the weight that had settled in JJ's chest. She stepped closer to Emily. "I want to stay," she argued.

Emily placed her good arm around JJ's shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "And I want you to. Except we both need to sleep. Go. I'll call you as soon as I wake up."

"Are you sure?" JJ asked. At Emily's nod she continued, "Call me if you need anything."

"Go see Henry," she chuckled as she gently pushed JJ towards the door. "Seriously, I'll be fine."

JJ rolled her eyes and smiled at Emily. "Okay, I'm going. Remember to call me the minute you get up."

Emily held up three fingers. "Scout's honor."

Satisfied with that answer, JJ turned and left. She was determined to only spend enough time at home to catch a few hours of sleep.

Half an hour later, JJ pulled her black Jeep into her apartment complex's parking lot. She sighed as she climbed out and made her way into her home. It wasn't as nice as Emily's or as big, but she loved it just the same.

JJ paused just inside the door. This looked like her apartment and smelled like her apartment, yet it was way too quiet to be her apartment. Granted it was late and Henry was most likely asleep, but Will usually had the TV, or at least music, playing in the background. It was also football season, which meant he should have been yelling at his team for doing something stupid. None of that was the case at the moment.

JJ walked further into the room and couldn't stop the smile that slid easily onto her face. Will was sprawled out on the couch, a few empty beer bottles on the coffee table, and the book that rested on his chest was rising and falling gently with his snoring. She did care for this man just not in the way he wished she would. JJ swallowed down the guilt that had settled in her throat at the thought that she would soon break his heart. He was a good man, and he deserved so much better.

She made her way up the stairs and stopped at her son's room. A sigh of contentment escaped as she leaned against the doorjamb, happy to simply watch her son sleep. There were so many horrors out there in the world, so many things wrong. This however, was so right. The innocence of a child, the hope of a new life, and the inherent goodness of life in general: these were the things that JJ fought for. The small wonders of life were why she strapped the Kevlar on everyday.

She got caught up in her daydream unaware of how long she had been standing there, until a pair of arms encircled her from behind and brought her back to reality. Will nuzzled his face into her neck, breathing in her scent. In that moment, a small part of JJ wished she could preserve this perfect Rockwellian picture of a family. Part of her wished she could lean back into his embrace like she had not too long ago.

The bigger part, the part that was ruled by her heart, was telling her that the arms around her were too big, the face too rough, the build too short and too muscular. Simply put, her heart knew that it wasn't Emily standing behind her and that was really all she wanted. She knew what it was like to be held by the profiler, and now that's all her body seemed to want.

This was all so real, the feelings so strong, that JJ honestly had no idea why she waited so long to decide.

"Everything okay?"

The southern drawl that she had once found charming suddenly put her nerves on edge. She didn't want to compare them, yet the thought that Emily wouldn't have had to ask that barreled into her mind without warning. Even though it really wasn't fair, it was true. Emily always seemed to know when something was wrong. She knew when to push JJ to talk, and she knew when JJ just needed to be held. Emily never had to ask when it came to JJ's emotions. Will always had to ask, and he never seemed to understand.

"Jennifer?"

He said it with the intention of getting her attention. JJ knew this, except it didn't sound right coming from him. Emily was the only one who was allowed to use her full name. She sighed and turned in his arms. "We need to talk."

Confusion and worry danced in his eyes. "Is everything okay?" he asked again.

She shook her head slightly as she disentangled herself form his arms and made her way back downstairs and into the living room. It was expected that he would follow and he did a few seconds later.

"What's going on JJ?" his accent got heavier when he was upset.

"I don't know how to say this," JJ started.

Will shrugged. "So just say it."

JJ rubbed a hand over her eyes. "There's something I need to tell you, and I don't want to because I know it will hurt you," she paused to collect her thoughts.

"JJ, what is going on?"

She sighed, noting that she had been doing a lot of that recently, and diverted her eyes because she didn't want to see the look in his eyes when she said this. "I love you, Will, you know that. I will probably always love you, but…"

"Did you cheat on me?" he interrupted.

That question was not what JJ had been expecting. "What?" she asked in confusion.

Will cleared his throat. "It sounds like you're about to apologize for something," he explained.

"So your mind jumped immediately to cheating?" JJ shook her head in disbelief. "No, I didn't cheat on you, not exactly."

"Just tell me, JJ."

"Will, I think it's time for us to move on," she blurted.

Confusion settled on his rugged features. "Move on how? Are you accepting my proposal finally?" he asked with hope in his eyes.

That response was nowhere on the list of ways JJ imagined this could have gone. She was pretty sure the tone of her voice was clear. "No. No, Will. That's not what I'm saying," she explained gently.

Realization dawned on his face. "Oh. You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" he asked as he flopped back onto the couch.

JJ rubbed her hands across her eyes as she settled into a chair across from him. "Yes I am. Will, I…"

He interrupted her again. "Are you sure you didn't just cheat?"

The look that must have settled on JJ's face prompted him to continue; the sadness evident in his voice. "We could work through cheating. I could fix cheating. _We_ could fix cheating, fix it and get over it. I…I can't fix _this._"

She got up and moved so she was sitting next to him. "No, we can't fix this. There's nothing to fix Will. I just think somewhere along the line we grew apart."

"Was it something I did, or something I said?"

"No. Not at all, there's just," JJ hesitated, unsure whether or not to tell Will the whole story.

"Someone else," he finished for her.

JJ felt herself deflate with relief. "Yes, there is," she breathed out. The admission hung between them tense and suffocating.

"Who?" he choked out.

"Will…"

"It's Emily, isn't it?" His voice sounded so small as he asked this, his eyes studying his hands in his lap.

All thought process came to a halt inside JJ's head. The words _it's Emily_ bounced harshly around in her ears. "How… how did you know?"

"I'm a detective, Jennifer. I could see what was right in front of me the whole time."

"Will, I am so sorry to put you through this. I am so, very sorry. I never meant to hurt you," she tried to explain.

"Yeah, but you did."

"I know."

"Do you love her?" He turned to look at her when he asked this.

JJ nodded. After all she had put him through the least she could do was tell him the truth. "Yes."

"Does she make you happy?"

"She does."

Will smiled sadly. "Then that's all that matters."

She stared at him, baffled by how well he was taking all of this. She had expected shouting, tears, even picture frames and vases shattered on the floor. She hadn't expected how calm he was currently being.

"Wha…what?" she managed to stutter out. It seemed that was the word of the day.

"I love you JJ. I'm _in love_ with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But not if it's going to make you unhappy. That's really all I want, as cliché as that is," he wiped at the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"Will…" JJ tried to interrupt.

"No. It's fine. I think deep down I knew this was coming. I knew I was on borrowed time since day one. I knew it. I was just hoping that I was wrong," he shrugged.

JJ watched him closely to figure out if he was telling the truth. She gave up trying. "You can still see Henry whenever you want. No restrictions on that."

He smiled sadly at her. "Thank you," he whispered gratefully.

She reached out and rubbed his arm. "Of course. I would never keep your son from you. You both deserve better than that. Besides, he needs his dad in his life, especially if I want him to have a chance of turning out the same way."

A few tears escaped both of their eyes while they sat there in silence. A change in the atmosphere was felt by both of them. It was no longer formal, no longer tense, no longer simply polite. Now it was real and emotional, and managed to be comfortable at the same time.

Will sighed as he stood. "I'm going to go stay at a friend's house. I'll be by tomorrow to pick my stuff up."

JJ stood beside him and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you, Will, for everything."

He simply smiled at her before he turned, took his keys off of the rack and left the apartment.

When the door closed behind him, JJ felt the tears start to fall. She mourned their relationship because it had been a good one while it lasted. She cried for Will and his broken heart. She wept for her part in breaking such a good man. Yet most importantly, the tears were for the massive amount of relief she felt in that exact moment. She was finally free. Her tears were for that.

JJ leaned back into the couch and let the tears turn into sobs as she cradled her knees to her chest. She needed this and she wasn't going to deny herself anymore. She had done enough of that in the past few years. So she vowed to change that part of herself and let the tears cleanse her for her new beginning with Emily.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

Something pulled her from her sleep and she blinked as she tried to figure out what it was. She waited, holding her breath for the noise to happen again. It did a few tense seconds later in the form of a screaming child.

JJ groaned and winced as she stretched out. She had apparently cried herself to sleep in an awkward position on the couch. If she was looking for sympathy, she obviously wasn't going to get it from Henry. His cries ran out loudly in the apartment again.

"I hear you little man," JJ grunted as she stood. Her neck popped and relieved the stress of sleeping at such an odd angle. She tried to rub the exhaustion from her eyes as she climbed the stairs to the nursery.

Henry's ruffled blonde hair and big blue eyes were waiting for her once she turned the corner. All of the sadness from her earlier conversation with Will left her at the sight of her son. She smiled as she picked him up.

"Shh, buddy. I'm right here."

Henry's cries died down as he snuggled further into his mother's arms. He sighed happily and grabbed the collar of JJ's shirt in his tiny fist as if he was afraid she was going to disappear.

"What's wrong, little man?" JJ asked as she rocked him gently back and forth. She glanced at the clock on the wall and bit back a groan. Henry had only let her get an hour of sleep since Will left.

"It's eleven o'clock, Henry. You should be asleep. _I_ should be asleep," she tried to reason.

Henry's response was a giggle that sounded very similar to mocking. JJ chuckled at her son's response to her misfortune.

"No sympathy from you, huh? Alright, let's try and get you settled again."

An hour later, JJ groaned as she sat down on a chair at the kitchen table. A still very awake Henry gurgled and babbled happily at her from his spot in his bouncy swing. JJ nodded along with his attempt at talking. "That's all very fascinating, Henry, but do you think we could finish this story in the morning? Mommy's very tired."

Henry didn't seem to care as he began to beat one of his toys against the tray of his swing. JJ rolled her eyes. She had already tried two feedings, a changing, more stories than she could count, several lullabies, and even the vacuum cleaner, which was usually her ace in the hole. None of those had even remotely worked.

JJ bent to pick up the pacifier that had just become airborne and had landed at her feet. She placed it back on the tray only to watch it go sailing across the room again. "Henry, it's late. I have to get up early," JJ groaned.

She continued when Henry showed no signs of settling. "We have to go over to Aunt Emily's as soon as she wakes up…"

The sentence trailed off and left JJ staring at her son in confusion. He had stilled and immediately fell quiet.

"What? Was it something I said?" JJ didn't expect an answer and felt her frustration grow when Henry resumed his drumming.

"Good God, Henry, I have to have a long talk with Emily tomorrow and I would appreciate it if…"

The words _I didn't have a headache_ were left unsaid as JJ stopped short again. Henry sat there quietly, his eyes focused on his mom. Realization dawned as she figured out the common denominator in the two sentences.

"You want to see Aunt Emily?"

Henry squealed and flung his toy across the room. JJ laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes."

It was after midnight and would take a good half hour to pack up Henry's things and then another twenty-five minutes at least to drive to Emily's downtown condo. It would be rude to intrude at this hour, especially since Emily was just starting to recover.

"She did give me a key for emergencies," JJ murmured with a smirk.

She knew she should just wait until morning. She knew that Emily needed to sleep. Most importantly, she knew that she had spent the last three years feeling empty because she hadn't been able to be with Emily.

The little voice that was telling her to go to Emily bypassed all the steps between nagging voice and full-blown need. That need to be with Emily intensified ten fold as desperation burned painfully in her stomach and her hands started to ache for the feeling of Emily's hands in her own.

JJ began pacing to work off the sudden surge of desire, the sudden adrenaline dump that was telling her to run. Her heart wanted her to run as fast as possible and not stop until she was in Emily's arms.

Her head was busy as it tried to come up with excuses not to bother the other woman so late at night. She jumped quickly from _it's too late_, to _Emily needs to rest_, to _I'm too tired to drive_ and settled on _what about Will?_

JJ stopped abruptly and almost tripped over the chair in front of her as her momentum tried to carry her further. She looked at Henry. "What _about_ Will?"

A smile started to tug at the corners of her mouth. "What about Will?" she asked again.

The guilt that usually came with thinking about Will was decidedly absent in that moment and that calmed all the previous nervous energy that wanted her to do something. Her smile grew. The understanding that Will was no longer a wall between her and Emily spread throughout her. It had finally hit home.

She could be with Emily. Nothing was stopping her now. She could be with the woman she loved as much as she loved her son. The tears started again. This time they were filled with feelings of joy, being complete, and absolute love. They descended slowly, taking their time in the healing of JJ's heart. Her dream was possible now.

"What the hell are we still doing here, little man?" JJ demanded as she turned to look at her son. "We need to go!"

Henry gurgled happily in response as his mom sped out of the room with a grin plastered firmly on her face.

Xxx-xxxxx-xxX

She struggled to open her eyes. The fog of a medically induced sleep still hung heavy in her mind. As much as she wanted to go back to sleep, there was something nagging at her to get up. There was no logical reason for her to be up right now. She didn't have to go into work; in fact the doctor had told her that she was supposed to stay home for two weeks at least. Her phone was silent in the early hours, for once, so it wasn't the offending device that woke her up. In all honesty, Emily had never felt so warm, comfortable, relaxed or safe in her own bed.

She stretched as best as the injury would allow, her right hand ran along the smooth sheet. She stopped. There was something not quite right about what she was feeling. It was true that she still wasn't thinking too clearly because of the drugs, but there shouldn't be that much heat coming from that side of the bed, she reasoned.

Her hand cautiously continued further away from her body, her fingers searched for whatever the source of heat was. They came in contact with the soft cotton of a tank top. Instinctively, Emily's fingers twisted in said fabric, and tugged slightly in order to bring the owner closer to her.

She was rewarded when the owner rolled closer to her and draped an arm over Emily's waist. Dark brown eyes opened out of curiosity. She knew it had to be JJ. There wouldn't be anyone else in her bed when she had definitely gone to bed alone a few hours before. The question instead was what, exactly, was JJ doing _here_ in her bed instead of the one she shared with Will.

Emily smiled as she studied JJ's face. She had no idea why the liaison was here, and she honestly didn't care. All she knew was that JJ was in her bed, and Emily was going to take advantage of it while it lasted. JJ had been trying to talk to her since the incident in the interrogation room. It was obvious that she had come to a decision about their twisted little love triangle, and Emily was nervous to hear what JJ had decided. What if she had decided to stay with Will? What if she chose a "normal" life over the life Emily could give her? What if she walked away and took Emily's heart with her?

"Stop staring at me, and go back to sleep," JJ mumbled into her pillow.

"Can't," Emily whispered.

Blue eyes shot open in concern. "Am I hurting you? Do you need more medication? Why can't you sleep?"

Emily smiled slightly to calm JJ down. "I'm afraid this is a dream, and if I go back to sleep I'll wake up to an empty bed."

"It's not a dream, Em," JJ answered through a smile. "Go back to sleep. We can talk when it's not such an ungodly hour of the morning," she reasoned as she closed her eyes to do just that.

That caught Emily's attention. She had assumed it was at least nine o'clock in the morning: late enough to count as sleeping in, but early enough so as not to waste the day. A glance at the bedside clock told her that it was much earlier than that. Emily allowed herself to sink back into the mattress and JJ's one-armed embrace, five o'clock was way too damn early to be getting up especially after the case they just had.

Emily allowed her eyes to drift closed until a question hit her. She started and basically threw JJ's arm off of her. "Where's Henry!" she demanded.

JJ took a deep breath to slow her suddenly rapid heart rate. "He's in the guest bedroom on his travel cot. He's sleeping. Em, he's fine. He's okay," JJ soothed as she gently guided the profiler into a more comfortable position.

Emily nodded as she leaned into JJ's welcoming arms. She marveled at how she had survived this long without being properly held by this woman. There was nothing like it in the world. There was nowhere Emily felt safer and more loved than right here.

After several minutes of silence Emily spoke up. "Not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing here, JJ?" she asked in barely a whisper.

JJ sighed as she buried her face in Emily's neck. "I couldn't be away from you anymore. Staying away was getting to be too much to ask."

"Do you mean…?" Emily let the question go unfinished, too afraid to ask it in case she had misread what JJ was trying to say.

"Yes. I choose you, Emily. It has always been you, and I am so terribly sorry that it took me this long to realize it."

The breath caught in Emily's throat. Her dream was finally coming true. "And Will?"

JJ snuggled closer to her if that was possible. "We broke up. It wasn't fair of me to keep stringing him along when I love someone else. Look at me, Em."

Emily complied and turned her head to stare into bright blue eyes. JJ smiled as she continued. "If there was one thing I felt in that interrogation room, it was fear. I'm not talking about fear for someone I care about or fear for a teammate. When I took the shot and I thought…"

She took a deep breath to control her emotions. "There was a moment when I thought I had hit you instead of Rodgers, and I all I felt was complete abject horror because I thought I had just hurt the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Jennifer…" Emily tried to interrupt.

JJ shook her head. "Let me finish please. Every time I think about my future, I see three things: the first is that I stay in the BAU until I retire from the FBI. The second is that I live a long, happy life with my family by my side. And the third thing is that my family consists of Henry and you, Emily. God, it has always been you I see standing beside me, supporting me, holding me, loving me until I die."

JJ let the feeling of Emily's fingers drawing shapes on her arm comfort her for a moment. "I can't say that I don't care about what my family thinks, or how my town will react. I'm terrified of how the team will respond and what Strauss will do when she finds out. I'm scared of all of that, Emily, and yet none of it really matters. When Rodgers had you at gunpoint, I thought I had lost you. I thought I had lost my one chance of being with you. That scared me more than I have _ever_ been scared in my entire life."

Emily's scent washed over her as she took a deep breath to steady herself. "I caught a glimpse of what life would be like without you, and I never want to think about that again. So, Emily, I am asking… no, I am begging you to forgive me for taking this long in deciding. I want it to be you, Em. I want all of that. The cliché two point five kids, dog in the yard, house with a white picket fence nonsense, but only if you are the one I get to share it with. I love you Emily Prentiss. And I _need_ you to love me like I love you, like there's no one else in the world that matters."

Emily didn't try to stop the tears that flowed freely from her eyes. "Yes, Jennifer. God, yes."

She pulled the love of her life closer to her, trying to mold them into one being. "I have loved you for so long, and you have no idea how much I needed to hear you say that."

JJ couldn't help herself. She needed to feel Emily against her in every possible way. She reached up and firmly grasped Emily's face in her hands, her thumbs gently wiped away the tears that were currently streaming down Emily's face. JJ sighed before she pulled Emily's face down and their lips connected in the most honest kiss either of them had ever felt.

They took their time and let the kiss be exactly what it needed to be: healing from all they had been through, more love than either could contain, and a promise of things to come.

Emily finally pulled away only when she absolutely had to. Her ragged breathing rang harshly in her ears as she leaned her forehead against JJ's. "We'll take things slow, I promise. I don't want to rush into anything. You deserve better than that."

JJ nodded. "I don't want to ruin this by rushing into it."

"We'll deal everything else when we have to," Emily reasoned.

"As long as you're with me," JJ whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?" JJ asked, the vulnerability obvious in her voice.

"As long as I can," Emily vowed.

"That's all I can ask for," JJ sighed as she looked deeply into Emily's eyes before pulling her back down for another kiss.

They still had a lot to deal with, many obstacles to overcome. But there, in the early rays of light that were dawning on a new day, nothing else really mattered. They had survived the night. They stood toe-to-toe with the worst humanity had to offer, and they came out the other side stronger than ever. There wasn't anything life could throw their way that they couldn't handle now. As long as they had each other everything would be okay.

"I love you," JJ mumbled into Emily's neck as she drifted off to sleep.

Emily squeezed the younger woman in response. Her dream had finally come true. There wasn't anything else she could ask for.

Shaw had been wrong. There was no tragedy there in that moment. Maybe one day there would be because she didn't have anything else to dream for, no goal to reach for. She had everything she wanted more than life itself. Maybe one day in the future she would find tragedy in no longer needing to reach for this specific goal; to fight for the one thing she needed to survive. Maybe one day she would require a new goal, a new battle to fight. Maybe one day they would find themselves balanced precariously on the double-edged sword of desire versus success.

Maybe one day.

If that day came, then together, they would discover what those new hopes and dreams were. They would figure it out - together.

Emily's eyes began to droop as sleep took its hold. Tomorrow was a new day. Let that day be the one filled with everything they still had to overcome. Today was here, now. Today was new. Today she had JJ in her arms. Let tomorrow be about doubts, and worries, and fears. Today was good, and happy, and complete. Today she loved and was loved and nothing else mattered.

Today was real. Nothing else mattered.


End file.
